Russia launched a large-scale overnight barrage of drones and missiles across Ukraine, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 100, in one of the most intense attacks on the country in months, according to Ukrainian officials.
The assault began late Monday and continued into the early hours of Tuesday, with strikes reported in the capital Kyiv, as well as the cities of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, and the Khmelnytskyi region.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 attack drones of various types, describing the wave as a coordinated effort to overwhelm air defences. Officials said a large number of missiles and drones were intercepted, but dozens of impacts were recorded on residential buildings and critical infrastructure, according to NPR.
Kyiv was the main target, where explosions lit up the night sky, and fires broke out after debris and direct hits damaged apartment blocks, a section of a high-rise building, and other civilian facilities, local authorities reported.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko and emergency services said at least four people were killed in the capital and more than 50 were injured, with rescuers pulling residents from collapsed structures and searching for those still missing.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said part of an apartment building had been "essentially demolished" and that nine people, including a child, were killed in that single incident, the New York Times reported.
Beyond Kyiv, regional officials reported casualties and extensive damage across multiple fronts. In the Kharkiv region, Russian strikes hit energy facilities and other critical infrastructure, while additional attacks were recorded on power and industrial sites in central and southern regions.
Emergency crews worked through the night to restore electricity and heating in affected areas and to secure damaged residential blocks, as authorities warned that casualty figures could rise as rubble is cleared.
The attack followed Zelenskyy's earlier warnings that Moscow was preparing a "massive" new strike, and it came after Russia publicly signalled plans for more "systematic" long-range operations against Ukraine's military and energy infrastructure.
Officials in Kyiv said the scale and timing of the overnight bombardment were intended to put pressure on Ukraine's defences and disrupt daily life in major urban centres, as per US News.
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