At least 22 people have been killed across Ukraine after Russia launched one of the largest aerial attacks of the four-year war overnight. Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian forces fired 73 missiles and 656 attack drones, with 40 missiles and 602 drones intercepted or downed. However, 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles, and 33 drones struck 38 locations nationwide, prompting a major emergency response.
In Kyiv, six people were killed and 64 injured, including two children, as debris rained down. President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the urgent need for American Patriot interceptor systems. Resident Olha Mudra, sheltering with her six-year-old daughter, described the scene as “some kind of apocalypse”. Another Kyiv resident, Iryna Salikova, spent the night in a bath tub with her three-year-old after a cobblestone flew into the children’s room.
The southeastern city of Dnipro saw the highest death toll, with 16 killed, including an eight-year-old boy and a three-year-old boy, according to regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha. In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were wounded, and residential buildings, garages, and cars were damaged. Emergency services rescued people trapped under rubble, including from a four-storey apartment block.
Thousands sought shelter in Kyiv’s metro system, carrying pets and mattresses, as air defence systems engaged Russian attacks. “I’ve lost all hope,” said 32-year-old Valeriia Nafechinko, sheltering in a station. President Zelensky called the attack “an explicit statement from Russia” that strikes will continue unless Ukraine is protected.
Russia’s defence ministry said the strike was retaliation for “terrorist acts” by Ukraine against targets inside Russia, including a drone strike on a student dorm in Luhansk. Moscow claimed it used hypersonic missiles and drones to hit seven regions. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the war has entered “a new paradigm” and reiterated that peace talks are on hold, with Ukraine required to withdraw from regions Russia claims as its own.
