Russian forces launched a massive drone and missile strike on Kyiv overnight into Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring around 90 others, the Ukrainian air force and BBC News confirmed, in what is being described as the most devastating Kyiv attack since the invasion began. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared Friday a day of mourning to honor the victims of the intense barrage, which hit an ambulance station and residential sectors across a wide area. Emergency personnel are working through the rubble of destroyed structures to find survivors as the casualty count is expected to rise. The scale of the damage prompted local officials to evacuate several neighborhoods as buildings shook continuously during the multi-hour raid.
The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia deployed 74 missiles and 496 drones during the night, primarily targeting the capital city. Although Western-supplied air defense systems managed to intercept the majority of the incoming threats, 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones managed to break through during the Kyiv attack and strike 33 different locations. A high-rise apartment building in southeast Kyiv suffered a direct hit, causing a significant portion of its structure to collapse. What remains unclear is whether this specific combination of jet-powered drones and advanced ballistic missiles signals a permanent shift in Russian offensive tactics or a temporary escalation.
Children were among the significant number of casualties recorded, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv`s military administration, who accused Russian forces of intentionally targeting residential zones. In a video message shared on Telegram, Mayor Klitschko noted that rescue teams are desperately attempting to reach a 15-year-old girl and her family trapped beneath a collapsed residential complex. The bombardment also destroyed a central hotel and heavily damaged a medical substation, leaving at least one health worker critically injured. Residents crowded into underground metro stations for shelter as tracer fire illuminated the night sky followed by loud explosions.
The Russian Ministry of Defense acknowledged the operation, claiming its forces executed a massive strike against Ukraine`s military-industrial complex and critical energy infrastructure. Moscow maintained that these actions were direct retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha firmly rejected this justification, calling it completely immoral to equate the actions of an aggressor with a nation defending itself. Sybiha urged international allies to provide immediate concrete assistance rather than mere statements of condemnation to halt the ongoing campaign.
Following the deadly Kyiv attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his urgent appeal to the United States for licenses to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles domestically. Zelensky emphasized that securing consistent air defense capabilities remains an absolute priority for safeguarding Ukrainian cities from future large-scale aerial incursions. This assault represents the first major combined missile and drone strike on the capital in over two weeks, shattering a brief period of relative calm. The devastation left behind highlights the ongoing challenges Ukraine faces in protecting its civilian population against sophisticated, multi-directional aerial barrages.
