Russia unleashed one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital overnight, bombarding Kyiv for nearly five hours in a sustained assault that triggered widespread explosions, damaged civilian infrastructure and forced residents to seek shelter across the city.
Ukrainian authorities said the attack involved multiple waves of ballistic missiles and drones, with air defence systems working throughout the night to intercept incoming threats. The prolonged barrage lit up the night sky as explosions echoed across several districts of the capital.
Emergency services reported damage to residential buildings, commercial properties and critical infrastructure, while debris from intercepted missiles sparked fires in multiple locations. Rescue teams were deployed to affected areas to extinguish blazes, assess structural damage and search for possible casualties.
Officials urged residents to remain in shelters until the all clear was given, describing the attack as one of the most intense missile assaults Kyiv has experienced since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Air Force said air defence units intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones, although several projectiles penetrated the country’s defensive shield, causing destruction in parts of the city. Authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the assault, describing it as another deliberate attack on civilians and critical infrastructure. He renewed calls for Ukraine’s allies to strengthen the country’s air defence capabilities, arguing that additional systems were needed to protect cities from increasingly sophisticated Russian attacks.
Russia has intensified its long range strikes in recent months, frequently targeting Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones in what Moscow says are attacks on military and strategic infrastructure. Ukrainian officials, however, maintain that many of the strikes have hit civilian areas, causing deaths, injuries and widespread destruction.
The latest bombardment comes as fighting continues along several front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine, with both sides engaged in heavy combat while diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled.
The renewed assault has drawn condemnation from several Western governments, which reiterated their support for Ukraine and called on Russia to halt attacks on civilian areas. International humanitarian organizations also expressed concern over the growing humanitarian impact of continued missile strikes on urban centres.
Military analysts say the scale and duration of the overnight barrage underscore Russia’s continued reliance on large coordinated missile attacks to pressure Ukraine’s air defence network and disrupt civilian life, even as the war enters another critical phase.
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