KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Overnight into Thursday, Russia launched an extensive 11-hour drone and missile assault on Kyiv, claiming the lives of at least 20 civilians and injuring many others. Moscow stated this attack was a response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.
As explosions rocked the capital, over 50,000 residents took refuge in subway stations following air raid alerts, according to the Kyiv Metro. As daylight approached, emergency teams continued to search through the debris of damaged and burnt apartment buildings for survivors.
The Russian Defense Ministry characterized this lethal bombardment as retaliation for Ukraine’s long-range strikes, which have led to severe fuel shortages and added pressure on President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s escalating large-scale attacks, referred to by President Zelenskyy as a 40-day blitz, have primarily targeted oil refineries, exacerbating a fuel crisis that has frustrated Russian authorities.
More than four years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, analysts and Western officials note that Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have provided it with a strategic advantage. Attacks on supply routes behind the front lines have hampered the Russian military’s progress, making it sluggish and costly.
Kyiv’s forces have specifically disrupted supplies to Crimea, leading to the most significant fuel crisis on the peninsula since Russia’s illegal annexation in 2014, undermining the Kremlin’s narrative of victory.
Ukrainian officials aim to compel Putin to negotiate, yet Moscow’s response has consistently been retaliation. Diplomatic attempts, including those by the Trump administration, have not yielded results. Analysts suggest Putin believes time is on his side, anticipating a decline in Western support and an eventual collapse of Ukraine’s resistance under sustained bombing.
Ukraine’s top diplomat claims it was a ‘night of horror’ in Kyiv
The assault resulted in 20 fatalities in Kyiv, as reported by city administration chief Tymur Tkachenko, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko noting over 90 injuries.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described it as a “night of horror” in the capital. While the pre-war population of Kyiv was approximately 3 million, the current number of residents remains unclear.
Damage was noted in 30 locations citywide, mainly affecting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, with around 20 residential structures reported damaged, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
Explosions illuminated the night sky, and loud detonations reverberated throughout Kyiv. Tracers from air defenses streaked above as substantial clouds of black smoke billowed into the air.
Kyiv resident Serhii Budko reported that three or four ballistic missiles struck his neighborhood, stating, “We were inside the shelter and felt it shake — the ceiling and floor, everything.”
In Kyiv’s Desnianskyi district, residents were trapped in a damaged nine-story building, while in the Darnytskyi district, six levels of another nine-story structure collapsed.
In central Dnipropetrovsk, a Russian guided bomb killed a 7-year-old girl and injured several family members, including an 11-year-old girl, according to regional head Oleksandr Hanzha.
Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, briefed Putin on the results of this “massive retaliatory strike,” while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov asserted that the bombardment targeted “military or military-linked objectives.”
However, Russia’s airstrikes on Ukraine have frequently struck civilian areas, with over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians reported killed during the conflict, according to the United Nations.
Ukrainian officials call for enhanced air defenses
The attack utilized “high-precision long-range weapons” and drones against arms factories and energy sites in and around Kyiv, as well as “military airfield infrastructure” elsewhere in Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine’s air force reported that a total of 74 missiles and 496 drones were launched during the assault.
While Ukraine’s air defenses have improved throughout the conflict, particularly against drones, intercepting ballistic missiles—responsible for about one-third of the missiles fired overnight—remains a challenge.
Sybiha noted in April that partner countries’ weapons factories met up to 75% of Ukraine’s military needs, yet he and other officials continue to urge allies to provide additional Patriot systems, which are vital for effective protection against Russian aerial assaults.
He dismissed any Russian justifications for the strikes as retaliation, reinforcing that Russia remains the aggressor in this war.
Ukrainian forces target another Russian oil refinery
Ukrainian forces launched an assault on one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Nizhny Novgorod region, igniting a fire, as reported by Ukraine’s General Staff.
Additionally, Ukrainian forces targeted a railway bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, which was utilized by Russian forces for transporting personnel and military supplies.
