Key Points
- Residential buildings, hospitals and schools hit: Emergency services
- Hundreds of missiles and drones launched overnight on Kyiv and other regions
- NATO and EU condemn escalation, vow further military aid for Ukraine
KYIV: At least four people were killed and nearly 70 others wounded in Kyiv on Sunday after Russia unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on Ukraine’s capital and other regions, in one of the heaviest overnight assaults in recent months.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported intercepting the majority of the incoming projectiles but confirmed that several drones and missiles struck “civilian infrastructure”.
According to Reuters, more than 590 drones and 48 missiles were launched in the overnight offensive, marking one of the largest combined strikes since the war began.
Emergency services said residential blocks, hospitals, and even a kindergarten were among the structures damaged. Associated Press reported that rescue workers pulled victims from the rubble in multiple districts of Kyiv, as fires broke out in apartment complexes and medical facilities.
Power outages
Local officials reported power outages across parts of the capital following the strikes, while air raid sirens continued into the morning.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told AP the barrage was intended to overwhelm the city’s layered air defence network and terrorise civilians.
The scale of the attack drew swift international condemnation. A European Union spokesperson told Reuters the strike was “a deliberate escalation against civilian life,” while the United States reaffirmed that military and financial support for Ukraine would continue.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated in Brussels that the alliance was reviewing options for additional air defence systems and ammunition deliveries to Kyiv.
Military analysts quoted by The Washington Post said the barrage suggested Russia was attempting to stretch Ukraine’s defensive resources ahead of winter and divert attention from frontline operations in the east and south.
They warned that Moscow may be preparing to combine heavy aerial attacks with ground offensives designed to exploit weakened defences.
Ukrainian officials said reinforcements were being dispatched to frontline positions even as recovery operations continued in the capital. “Russia is using terror from the skies to break our resilience, but Ukraine will not be intimidated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a late-night address.
