For the second night in a row, Russia has launched an extensive drone and missile assault on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv and numerous other areas. The attack, which killed at least 12 people and injured many more, has been described by Ukrainian officials as the most massive of the over three-year conflict.
According to Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, the country was hit with a total of 367 drones and missiles. Russia deployed 69 missiles and 298 drones, including Iranian-made Shahed drones, he told the Associated Press. While Moscow did not immediately respond to the incident, Russia’s defense ministry claimed that 110 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight.
The strikes caused widespread destruction, including in the Kyiv region, where several homes were reduced to rubble. Emergency crews battled fires triggered by drone debris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States and other global powers to take a stronger stance against Russia. He emphasized the need for tougher sanctions, writing on Telegram that silence from the international community only emboldens Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions,” Zelenskyy said.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy listed more than 30 Ukrainian cities and towns hit overnight, including major population centers such as Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, and Odesa. He condemned the strikes as deliberate attacks on civilian areas, noting that many residential buildings were destroyed or damaged.
The attack cast a grim shadow over Kyiv Day, a national holiday marking the city’s founding. It also came just before the final day of a major prisoner exchange between the two nations, in which both sides swapped a total of 1,000 detainees in a rare moment of cooperation.
Children Among Dead in Zhytomyr as Fire and Destruction Spread
Explosions echoed through Kyiv and its surroundings overnight as Ukrainian forces attempted to intercept incoming drones and missiles. Fires ignited in residential and commercial buildings due to falling debris.
In Kyiv, four people were killed, according to Ukraine’s security services. In the Zhytomyr region, three children aged 8, 12, and 17 were among the dead. Additional fatalities were reported in Khmelnytskyi and Mykolaiv.
A drone strike ignited a blaze in a student dormitory in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, while in nearby Markhalivka, residents mourned the loss of their homes and pets. “The street looks like Bakhmut, like Mariupol—it’s just terrible,” said 76-year-old Liubov Fedorenko.
She recounted convincing her daughter not to visit over the weekend—a decision that may have saved her life. Her husband, Ivan Fedorenko, regretted bringing the family’s dogs inside during the raid. “They burned to death,” he said.
Fighting Continues Despite Prisoner Swaps
The weekend saw the largest prisoner exchange since the war began, with Russia and Ukraine each repatriating 1,000 individuals over three days. However, the exchange did not signal a de-escalation in hostilities.
Fighting persisted along the 1,000-kilometer front line, with both sides continuing to shell enemy positions. Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces had taken control of Romanivka in Donetsk, though this could not be independently verified.
