Russian forces launched a massive aerial attack combining ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against Kyiv overnight into Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens. The widespread bombardment, which triggered air raid alerts across most of Ukraine, targeted civilian infrastructure and hit all 10 administrative districts of the capital on both sides of the Dnipro River.
Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko and Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that the casualties included at least two children. In the Desnianskyi district, a direct hit caused the partial collapse of a nine-story residential building, trapping several residents beneath the rubble as emergency crews conducted rescue operations. Additional strikes ignited a major fire at a central hotel in the Shevchenkivskyi district and severely damaged multi-story residential towers in the Holosiivskyi and Pecherskyi areas.
The multi-directional assault prompted thousands of residents to seek shelter deep within the city’s underground metro stations. The escalation follows an intelligence warning issued Wednesday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding an impending large-scale aerial campaign by Moscow, marking one of the most intense bombardments on the capital since mid-June.
