Kyiv [Ukraine]: Russia conducted a significant attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and surrounding areas during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, deploying a total of 741 aerial weapons, including 728 drones, seven Iskander-K cruise missiles, and six Kinzhal missiles. This marks one of the largest assaults since the conflict began in 2022. Notably, this is the second such large-scale attack this month by Moscow.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on X that Ukrainian defenses managed to neutralize 718 of these threats, with many intercepted by Kyiv’s drone and mobile fire units. Despite this, the main strike targeted Lutsk, causing fires at a garage cooperative and a private business, with damage also reported across multiple regions such as Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv.
The MFA stated, “Russia launched an overnight attack with 741 aerial weapons — including 728 drones, 7 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 6 Kinzhal missiles. Our defenses neutralized 718 threats, with dozens intercepted by Ukrainian drones and fire units. The main strike hit Lutsk, causing fires at multiple sites. Damage was also reported across several regions.”
At least two civilians were killed, and over a dozen others wounded in the attacks, according to Kyiv officials, as reported by CNN. Emergency teams in Kyiv are still combating a fire spanning 8,000 square meters, and the MFA called for harsh sanctions on Russian oil, which helps finance Moscow’s military actions, along with secondary sanctions on buyers of that oil.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the aggression as an escalating form of terror and emphasized the urgent need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses and increase pressure on Moscow. He accused Russia of rejecting peace efforts and urged quick action from international allies, including passage of new sanctions bills and measures to cut Russia’s revenue from oil.
Sybiha also highlighted the dire situation in Kyiv, describing it as a nightmarish experience filled with drone and missile attacks that caused damage to residential buildings, civilian casualties, and extensive smoke in the morning sky. He criticized President Vladimir Putin for denying peace negotiations and called for international partners to act swiftly to weaken Russia’s war capabilities.
This attack follows a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which confirmed that Russia has repeatedly violated human rights in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022 and held Moscow accountable for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which resulted in 298 deaths. Moscow has consistently denied involvement in that incident.
Finally, Ukrainian authorities reported that Moscow launched over 500 drones and 11 missiles into Kyiv late Friday night, causing one death, injuring at least 23 people, and leading to widespread destruction across the capital, as per Al Jazeera.