Kiev has faced the brunt of the attack, with numerous casualties, fires, and damage to non-residential buildings, officials have said
The Russian military has launched a wave of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, with Kiev facing the most powerful attack, local officials have said. The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to comment.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said early on Thursday that Moscow had launched “a massive combined attack” targeting Kiev, Zhytomyr, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, and Sumy regions, as well as Ukrainian-controlled parts of Russia’s Zaporozhye Region. He reported that approximately 40 fires were extinguished by first responders overnight, with Kiev suffering the most significant impact.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed the capital was the hardest hit, reporting that nine people were killed and 63 injured. It said that “fires broke out in garages, an administrative building, and non-residential buildings,” adding that falling debris set fire to cars and dry grass.
In Kharkov, Mayor Igor Terekhov said there had been 19 strikes, including seven by cruise missiles and 12 by kamikaze drones. He added that an unnamed manufacturing enterprise was hit in the attack.
Russian military blogger Kirill Fyodorov claimed that the attack on Kharkov targeted the Malyshev factory, which produces various types of heavy equipment and is part of Ukraine’s state-owned defense corporation, Ukroboronprom. He also reported drone strikes “in the area of the Kharkov airport.”
In Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk Region, an industrial enterprise was damaged in the strikes, with no casualties reported, according to Sergey Lysak, the head of the local administration.
Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, noted that technical tracks and administrative and technical buildings were damaged in Kiev and Kharkov regions.
Russia routinely launches drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s military-related targets, maintaining that its operations never target civilian facilities.
