A massive Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine early Tuesday killed at least 18 people, including six in the capital, Kyiv, as Moscow intensified its aerial assault across the country.
According to Ukrainian officials, at least 64 people were injured in Kyiv after ballistic missiles struck residential areas and triggered major fires. Authorities warned the death toll could rise as emergency crews continued rescue operations and searched through the rubble of damaged buildings.
A nine-storey residential building in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district partially collapsed after being hit during the overnight bombardment. Emergency services said several residents could still be trapped beneath the debris.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones during the attack. Ukrainian defenses intercepted 40 missiles and 602 drones, but failed to stop several Russian hypersonic Zircon missiles reportedly fired from occupied Crimea and Russia’s Kursk region.
In Dnipro, officials confirmed 11 deaths, including an eight-year-old child and the child’s mother, while 37 others were injured. Meanwhile, 14 people, including a child, were wounded in Kharkiv after the city was targeted by drones and missiles, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
On the Russian side, authorities said one civilian was killed in the border region of Kursk Oblast following a Ukrainian drone strike. A fire also broke out at the Ilski oil refinery in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region after another reported drone attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned days earlier that Russia was preparing a “new massive strike” against Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using terror tactics as Moscow continues its large-scale invasion.
Russia’s Defense Ministry later claimed responsibility for what it described as a “massive strike” targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The latest escalation comes as peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain stalled after more than four years of war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions since the Russian invasion began in 2022.
