Russian forces on Thursday launched a “massive” overnight assault on Kyiv, killing at least four people and injuring about 30 others, Ukrainian officials said.
The strikes, which involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as Iranian-made Shahed drones, hit multiple districts of the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that residential buildings and a shopping mall were among the structures damaged, while a five-storey building in the Darnytsky district collapsed under the impact.
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko reported that the victims included a 14-year-old girl, while five other children aged between seven and 17 suffered varying degrees of injuries.
AFP journalists in Kyiv described seeing powerful explosions lighting up the night sky, columns of smoke rising across the city, and red tracer bullets fired by Ukrainian forces in attempts to intercept drones overhead. Dozens of residents sought refuge in underground subway stations, some huddling with pets and others in sleeping bags.
The attack comes amid a deadlock in international diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Recent peace talks spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, who met both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky this month, have yielded little progress.
Ukrainian officials also reported strikes in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, while Russian authorities claimed to have destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian drones overnight. In a separate incident, a Ukrainian strike ignited a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region, though no casualties were reported.
Thursday’s assault follows the July 31 attack on Kyiv, one of the deadliest since the start of the over three-year war, which left more than 30 people dead, including five children.
Zelensky on Wednesday accused Moscow of sending “arrogant and negative signals” in ongoing negotiations and called for increased international pressure on Russia. He confirmed that Ukrainian officials would meet with US counterparts in New York on Friday to push for stronger security guarantees.
Moscow has dismissed Kyiv’s demands for Western-backed security assurances, particularly the proposal to deploy international peacekeepers in Ukraine, calling them “unrealistic.”
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