In a significant escalation, Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv early Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people with 46 others injured, including five children, according to Ukrainian authorities. As rescue operations continued, officials cautioned that the casualty figures could rise.
The assault inflicted severe damage on residential areas throughout the Ukrainian capital. Emergency services reported that at least 15 apartment buildings suffered damage or were destroyed, with the Podilskyi district bearing some of the brunt. In this district, a nine-story residential building was among those hit, prompting rescue teams to work tirelessly to extract individuals trapped beneath the debris.
In addition to the devastation in Kyiv, another fatality was confirmed in the Bucha district, located to the northwest of the capital.
The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged conducting the “massive” strike, employing long-range missiles and drones. They claimed the operation targeted military, energy, and airfield infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions across Ukraine.
This attack comes on the heels of another significant Russian offensive that occurred just days earlier, which resulted in the deaths of at least 27 people in Kyiv, marking it as one of the deadliest incidents in the city this year. Amidst these developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported ongoing fighting around the strategically important town of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region, rejecting Russian assertions that the town had been captured.