Heavy Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Cities Kill at Least 22

Russia unleashed one of its fiercest barrages in recent weeks on Ukraine, hammering cities with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an assault authorities said killed 22 people and injured more than 100.

The strikes, which hit Kyiv and ⁠Dnipro among other cities, came after Russia warned it would carry out “systematic” attacks on the capital following a drone strike last month on a dormitory in the Russian-held Ukrainian region of Luhansk.

Kyiv has denied striking the dormitory.

The bombardment marked the third major attack on Kyiv in less than a month, though Russia has kept up relentless pressure on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, since launching its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched 73 missiles and more than 600 drones in the overnight assault, and renewed his appeal for Washington to provide more Patriot missile interceptors as Kyiv’s stockpiles run low.

“This was a large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue,” Mr Zelensky said on Telegram.

The Kremlin said the war had entered “a new paradigm” after what it described as “inhumane acts of terror” by Ukraine’s military against civilians, mirroring accusations Kyiv has long levelled at Russian forces. Moscow warned last ‌week that systematic strikes were coming and urged foreigners to leave Kyiv.

We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage PreferencesMr Zelensky said he sent ⁠a letter last week to US President Donald Trump and Congress requesting air defence systems. As of yesterday, officials said he had yet to receive a response.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine’s partners to take “concrete steps” to assist the country and step up pressure on Russia, including through tougher sanctions and increased military aid.

“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this. What we can change is Russia’s ability to continue terror,” he said on X.

The US remains Ukraine’s leading foreign arms supplier, but Kyiv has also been buying Patriot missiles through a NATO initiative funded by European allies.

The aftermath of a Russian strike on Dnipro

Russia’s war in Ukraine has killed tens of ‌thousands of people, uprooted much of the population and laid waste to cities, towns and villages. Moscow now holds roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has also struck civilian targets in Russia and in Russian-occupied areas, though on a far smaller scale. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.

Photographs showed towering blasts ⁠and thick smoke rising over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where officials said six people were killed and more than 80 were wounded.

“We couldn’t understand what was happening – some kind of apocalypse?” said Olha Mudra, her face and clothes ‌coated in dust, as she stood at one strike site with her six-year-old daughter Natalia.

Sixteen people were killed overnight, including two young boys, in ⁠the southeastern city of Dnipro, ‌local officials said. Russia struck the city again later yesterday, leaving at least two more people injured.

In Kyiv, at least nine high-rise buildings, a kindergarten, a clinic, offices and administrative buildings were damaged, while the attack temporarily knocked out electricity for 140,000 residents, power company DTEK said.

More than 40,000 people sheltered in the Kyiv subway system, the highest number seen in recent years. Some arrived carrying pets, belongings and mattresses.

Thousands of residents took shelter in metro stations in Kyiv

Ukraine’s Air Force said the barrage included 33 ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept, and eight Zirconhypersonic ⁠missiles, apparently the largest number of those weapons used at one time during the war.

The Zircon has a range of 1,000km and can travel at nine times the speed of sound, according to Moscow. ⁠Ukrainian Air Force units said they shot down or neutralised 40 missiles and 602 drones, but no Zircon was listed among them.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had launched a “massive strike” on defence industry sites using high-precision long-range weapons, and said 10 military production facilities in Kyiv had been hit.

In Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said 14 people were injured in the attacks, including a child.

Poland, a NATO member, said it scrambled military aircraft to protect its airspace after the Russian strikes on Ukraine.

Russian regions also reported attacks. Local authorities in the southern Krasnodar region said the Ilsky oil refinery caught fire after a drone strike. Ukraine’s military confirmed it carried out the attack.

In Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, local authorities said an 11-year-old boy was injured when a Ukrainian drone struck a home.

Russia shot down 148 Ukrainian drones ‌overnight, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.

Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.