KYIV: Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone assaults on Kyiv early Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens after Moscow vowed retaliation for a deadly Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities said the overnight barrage involved around 600 drones and 90 missiles targeting Kyiv and several other regions across the country.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed in the capital and at least 56 others wounded, while regional officials confirmed two additional deaths in the surrounding Kyiv region.
Explosions echoed across the Ukrainian capital for hours as air defence systems attempted to intercept incoming missiles and drones. Residents sought shelter in underground metro stations while emergency crews responded to fires and damaged buildings across the city.
Ukraine’s air force claimed it intercepted 549 drones and 55 missiles during the assault. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had also launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile during the attack.
Attacking civilian infrastructure
According to Ukrainian officials, strikes damaged residential buildings, schools, markets and a business centre, with several people reportedly trapped inside a shelter after one strike.
The latest escalation followed Russia’s warning that it would “punish” those responsible for a Ukrainian drone strike on Starobilsk in occupied eastern Ukraine.
Moscow said the Ukrainian attack on a college dormitory in the Lugansk region killed at least 18 people and wounded dozens more. Ukraine denied targeting civilians, saying it struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the area.
Russian officials accused Kyiv of attacking civilian infrastructure, while Ukrainian authorities maintained that their operations were aimed at military targets linked to Russia’s invasion.
The renewed escalation comes as diplomatic efforts led by the United States to end the more than four-year war remain stalled amid broader international tensions.
