‘Massive’ Russian missile strike on Kyiv kills at least 12 people, Zelenskyy says

Kyiv Struck by Massive Russian Missile and Drone Barrage; Zelenskyy Reports at Least 12 Dead

Tyunews.com – At least 12 people were killed and over 40 more wounded when Russia unleashed what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “massive” combined missile-and-drone assault on the capital late Wednesday night, according to a social-media statement he posted Thursday.

Scale of the Overnight Barrage

Ukraine’s air force reported that an unspecified number of ballistic missiles entered the country during the night, alongside 46 cruise or air-to-ground missiles of assorted types. A further 168 drones were launched, the service said. The primary axis of the strike was directed at the Kyiv region, the air force noted in a Telegram message.

Of the incoming ordnance, 41 cruise missiles and 145 drones were downed or otherwise neutralized, with impacts recorded at 28 separate locations. The air force did not disclose whether any ballistic missiles were intercepted. Earlier in the month, the service had quietly ceased publishing figures on ballistic missiles fired or shot down during Russia’s nightly salvos.

Casualties and Damage Across the Capital

Zelenskyy identified residential buildings, a children’s hospital, and a school among the structures damaged around the capital. He also confirmed overnight strikes in the southern Odesa region and the northern Chernihiv region.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on Telegram, reported damage in the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi, and Darnitskyi districts, including fires at warehouses and apartment blocks.

“Throughout the night, our emergency services have been working at the sites of Russian strikes,” Zelenskyy wrote. “The attack was massive — the Russians prepared for a long time and combined different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones to inflict as much damage as possible on civilian infrastructure.”

Zelenskyy’s Plea for Interceptor Munitions

In recent months, Russian missile barrages have widened to cover virtually the entire country, while Kyiv officials have warned that Ukrainian stocks of anti-missile interceptor rounds are critically depleted and, in some cases, entirely spent. Ukraine is developing its own ballistic-missile interceptor, the FREYJA program, but officials have indicated the system will not be operational before 2027.

On Thursday, the president renewed his appeal to foreign partners for additional ammunition.

“Unfortunately, while Moscow is investing in ballistics and escalation, there isn’t always the necessary response from the world to such attacks,” he wrote. “As long as Ukraine lacks sufficient anti-ballistic defenses, Russia will not seriously consider peace. We are doing everything we can to ensure protection, and work on the FREYJA program continues every day. However, interceptors for ‘Patriot’ systems are not yet available, and they are needed every day.”

“Each additional missile saves the lives of our people. I thank everyone who understands this, who seeks and finds ways to help,” he added.

Moscow’s Account and Wider Drone Activity

Russia’s Defense Ministry characterized the overnight operation as aimed at “military industrial enterprises, a transport and logistics hub and warehouses in Kyiv and the Kyiv region.” The ministry also claimed it downed at least 726 Ukrainian drones across 18 Russian regions, plus Crimea, the Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated on Telegram that at least 28 drones were intercepted over the Moscow region.

Foreign Minister’s Reaction

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the night as “horrible and sleepless” in a post on X.

“This was one of the most brutal Russian attacks to date, with ballistic missiles raining down on our capital one after another,” he wrote.