Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia launched a major combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv and other regions overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday, killing at least one person and wounding dozens. Authorities said civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were hit.
Casualties and damage in Kyiv
Kyiv-area officials reported one person killed and several dozen wounded in the overnight strike. Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said the attack targeted civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
Images posted by the State Emergency Service showed rescuers digging through the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in search of survivors. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said 11 people had already been rescued.
Context of the strikes
Officials said the barrage was the first combined missile and drone attack since the end of a brief U.S.-brokered ceasefire. It came hours after Moscow unleashed hundreds of drones in a daytime attack that killed six, according to officials.
Air defence claims and other targets
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia’s barrage included 675 drones and 56 missiles, most of which were downed by air defences. It said 38 hits had been recorded across 24 locations.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the overnight strike also targeted railway infrastructure and ports in the southern Odesa region.
Diplomatic reaction
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to China showed Russia wants to continue fighting despite a peace push by Washington.
“There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop,” he wrote on X. “I am certain that the leaders of the United States and China have enough leverage over Moscow to tell Putin to finally end the war.”
War and peace efforts
Fighting between Russia and Ukraine has dragged into its fifth year despite the U.S.-backed peace effort, which has sputtered and produced few concrete results.
What impact do you think the latest strikes will have on efforts to revive ceasefire talks?