Russia Launches Massive Attack on Kyiv with Missiles and Drones, Injuring 11
Russia struck Ukraine's capital with missiles and drones overnight, causing explosions and fires, injuring at least 11 people, according to Kyiv's mayor.
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kyiv using missiles and drones overnight into Thursday, triggering loud explosions that shook the city for hours. Residential buildings were hit, and a fire broke out at a hotel on a central boulevard.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported at least 11 injuries. He added that people were trapped in a damaged nine-story residential building and that the roof of another high-rise apartment block was on fire. Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters, describing an ongoing "furious enemy attack" on the capital.
The attack involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, affecting all 10 districts of the city on both sides of the Dnipro River. Many residents took shelter in metro stations after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other authorities issued initial warnings.
Unofficial Telegram channels posted images of crowds gathering in underground stations as multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv. Zelenskyy had earlier warned that intelligence indicated a likely overnight attack and cut short his visit to Dublin, where he was attending the start of Ireland's presidency of the EU Council.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine's own long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.
NATO member Poland scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure, the Polish armed forces said on X, describing the actions as aimed at securing airspace, particularly near threatened regions.
