At least nine people have been killed and dozens injured following a massive overnight Russian missile and drone assault on the Kyiv region, Ukrainian officials confirmed Monday.
In a statement on X, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the barrage targeted residential areas, medical facilities, and sports infrastructure across the capital and surrounding areas.
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko revealed that six of the fatalities occurred in a high-rise apartment building in the capital.
Authorities said at least 33 others were injured in the attack, which sent thousands fleeing to bomb shelters in the early hours of the morning.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 352 drones and 16 missiles, with the bulk of them aimed at Kyiv in what is being described as one of the largest coordinated air offensives in recent weeks.
The fresh wave of attacks comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travels to London for a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, expected to focus on expanded military support for Ukraine.
BBC reports that emergency services released footage of panicked residents being evacuated from a burning residential tower. In the city of Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv, another person reportedly died after a drone struck a hospital.
Russia has escalated its air campaign in recent weeks, using complex combinations of drones, missiles, and decoys to test and overwhelm Ukrainian air defences, tactics that have proved increasingly difficult for Ukraine to counter.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrsky, signalled a shift in strategy during a briefing in Kyiv, saying, “We will not just sit in defence because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories.”
The strike follows another deadly assault last Tuesday that left 28 people dead and over 100 wounded, marking one of the most devastating attacks on Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the three-year conflict remain at a standstill. The last round of direct talks yielded only minor agreements on prisoner exchanges and the recovery of fallen soldiers’ remains.
Zelensky had been scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump during last week’s G7 summit, but the meeting was cancelled after Trump left early due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The Ukrainian leader is expected to attend a NATO summit dinner in the Netherlands on Tuesday as Ukraine continues to press for deeper Western support in the face of intensifying Russian strikes.
