A “massive” Russian attack on Kyiv has killed at least four people and wounded dozens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
More than 40 people had to be rescued as a result of the overnight assault into Friday, Ukraine’s emergency services added, with fires or damage to residential buildings reported in most of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts.
Zelenskyy said on X it was “a wicked attack” that killed four people and wounded dozens, including children and a pregnant woman. He said “about 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the strike, including ballistic and aeroballistic missiles. This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure.
“The main target of the attack was Kyiv, and strikes also hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions,” he added.
Earlier, Kyiv police said an elderly woman was killed, while a 10-year-old boy was among the injured.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko described it as a “massive enemy attack”, saying a pregnant woman and a man in an “extremely serious condition” were among the hospitalised.
A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva who suffered thermal burns was rushed to hospital, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the Kyiv region, who said Russian missiles and drones had targeted critical infrastructure in Kyiv.
Klitschko confirmed that the Russian attack had damaged part of the city’s heating networks, noting that some buildings in the northeastern Desnianskyi district were temporarily left without heat.
Before another punishing winter of war, Moscow has intensified its attacks on targets including Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, increasing the risk of heating outages.
Friday morning’s attack also struck residential buildings throughout the Ukrainian capital.
“Russians are hitting residential buildings. There are a lot of damaged high-rise buildings throughout Kyiv, almost in every district,” said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had shot down more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight.
“During the past night, air-defence assets intercepted and destroyed 216 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles,” it wrote on Telegram.
The latest attack on Kyiv comes two days after G7 foreign ministers reiterated their “unwavering” support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and demanded an immediate ceasefire.
As part of international efforts to hold Russia to account for its actions since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada unveiled new sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday.
The measures targeted the country’s drone and energy production, and infrastructure used to launch cyberattacks.
Zelenskyy said on Friday after the huge barrage on Kyiv, “All of this must end. A great deal of work is underway with partners to strengthen our air defense, but it is not enough. We need reinforcement with additional systems and interceptor missiles. Europe and the United States can help. We are counting on real decisions. Thank you to everyone who helps.”
