THE WASHINGTON POST: Russia rocks Ukrainian capital with massive assault, killing at least 13
Dozens were injured in the Ukrainian capital during an attack that caused fires and explosions throughout the city.
Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital with airstrikes overnight, killing at least 13 people, injuring more than 90 others and causing fires throughout the city, officials said Thursday.
It was the latest major attack on the Ukrainian capital as Moscow finds its war stalling and casualties mounting, with little prospect of renewed ceasefire or peace negotiations.
Moscow launched missiles and Iranian-designed Shahed self-destructing drones, as well as a large number of drones powered by jet engines, in an attack that lasted through the night. Explosions could be heard repeatedly throughout the city.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Every district in the capital suffered damage, Cr Klitschko said, with the worst in the east, where “part of a building was literally blown away.”
“A search and rescue operation is underway,” he wrote on social media. “People are being searched for under the rubble. Among them - a 15-year-old girl and her family.”
Russia’s attack also hit locations in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media. In Kyiv, “an ambulance station, a research institute, a hotel, and businesses” were damaged, Mr Zelensky said.
Moscow’s forces launched 74 missiles and 496 drones, of which 25 missiles and 12 drones struck targets, Ukraine’s Air Force said on Telegram. Most of the attack focused on Kyiv, it added.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have traded air attacks over the past weeks, with Kyiv inflicting considerable damage on military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia, which has led to acute gasoline shortages throughout the country.
Last week, officials in occupied Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, declared a state of emergency after weeks of punishing drone strikes that have disrupted water, fuel and electrical supplies on the peninsula.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a statement on social media, said Thursday’s attack targeted “military-industrial enterprises and fuel and energy facilities in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region, as well as military airfield infrastructure in the Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions.”
© 2026 , The Washington Post
