Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones, wounding civilians

Russian missiles and drones hit Kyiv overnight, setting off fires, collapsing a nine-story residential building in the Desnyanskyi district and pushing residents into metro stations for shelter. The Ukrainian air force warned that ballistic missiles were headed toward the capital as explosions shook central and eastern Kyiv, and the injury count rose from at least five to at least 11 as damage reports continued to come in.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said five healthcare workers were wounded in the Shevchenkivskyi district, including one in critical condition. He said the roof of a hotel burned in the same district, while a multi-story residential building caught fire in Holosiivskyi. In Desnyanskyi, the collapse of the nine-story building left people trapped inside, turning a night strike into a rescue operation in the middle of the city.

The assault landed after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a massive attack and cut short a visit to Dublin because of intelligence reports of an impending strike. More than a dozen explosions shook Kyiv as the barrage unfolded, with fires spreading through residential areas and a medical facility damaged in the attack. The city’s air-defense systems and emergency crews were forced to respond under the pressure of repeated incoming missiles and drones.

A recent UN assessment counted nearly 30 residential buildings, educational facilities and other civilian premises damaged in a recent wave of attacks in Kyiv, while about 140,000 households temporarily lost electricity. The same assessment said the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Ukraine’s most important religious and cultural landmarks, was damaged in a June strike.

The overnight bombardment followed Ukrainian attacks on Russian targets, including an oil refinery in Ufa, a military complex in the Penza region and a satellite communications center in the Moscow region. A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis put total war casualties at more than 2 million, with losses heavily skewing toward Russia.