Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles and drones, setting hotel ablaze

A hotel on Shevchenko Boulevard caught fire and a residential building in central Kyiv was destroyed as Russian drones and ballistic missiles struck the capital after Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was preparing a large-scale attack on Ukraine.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the hotel roof was on fire and emergency services were dispatched. Drone fragments fell in Kyiv’s city centre and in a northeastern suburb, while debris was scattered across two city districts. Ukraine’s state railway, Ukrzaliznytsia, said the attack damaged railway infrastructure, diverted passenger trains and caused delays, adding to the strain on a city already under sustained aerial pressure.

The capital was under attack by Russian ballistic missiles after hours of drone strikes, with multistory buildings left burning as the assault spread beyond a single target. The pattern reflected a Russian campaign that has increasingly mixed strike drones with heavier missiles, forcing Kyiv’s air defenses to respond across a wider area and leaving civilian buildings exposed when intercepts fail or debris comes down in populated neighborhoods.

The night’s assault also fit into a larger escalation that Kyiv has faced for months. In July 2025, Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine in a major attack that injured 23 people in Kyiv, and nighttime drone attacks on the city have intensified since then, with some swarms exceeding 700 drones. Zelensky said he hoped to speak with Donald Trump on Friday about the supply of U.S. weapons, a conversation now overshadowed by another round of strikes that hit the capital, burned a hotel and interrupted rail traffic in the center of the country’s political life.