Russia has carried out its largest overnight air attack since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, striking central Kyiv and setting the main government building ablaze. Ukrainian officials confirmed that three people were killed, including an infant, and 18 others injured in the assault, which involved hundreds of drones and missiles.
According to Ukraine’s air force, the attack comprised 805 drones and decoys, making it the most extensive Russian drone strike of the war. Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Ukrainian defences intercepted and neutralised 747 drones and four missiles. Despite these efforts, nine missiles and 56 drones struck 37 locations across the country, with debris from intercepted weapons falling on eight sites.
In Kyiv, a plume of smoke was seen rising from the roof of the Cabinet of Ministers building, which houses the offices of Ukraine’s ministers. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that the roof and upper floors were damaged, marking the first time the government building has been hit during the conflict. “We will restore the buildings, but lost lives cannot be returned,” she said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that the infant and a young woman were killed in the drone strikes, while a pregnant woman was among five people admitted to hospital. Earlier, he said an elderly woman had died in a bomb shelter in the Darnytskyi district, east of the Dnipro River.
In the western Sviatoshynskyi district, several floors of a nine-storey residential building were partially destroyed. Fires broke out in a 16-storey apartment block and two other buildings after being struck by falling debris. Photographs released by emergency services showed smoke pouring from damaged apartment blocks, with collapsed floors and shattered facades.
Russia accused of consciously striking civilian targets
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, accused Russia of “deliberately and consciously striking civilian targets”.
Beyond the capital, the central city of Kremenchuk experienced dozens of explosions, cutting power to parts of the city, according to mayor Vitalii Maletskyi. In Kryvyi Rih, strikes targeted transport and urban infrastructure, though no casualties were reported, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the local military administration.
In the southern port city of Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings, with fires breaking out in several apartment blocks.
Moscow has not commented on the latest strikes. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians, though thousands have been killed since the war began.
The scale of the attack prompted Poland to activate its own and allied aircraft to ensure air safety in its airspace, the country’s armed forces operational command confirmed.
The assault marks a significant escalation in Russia’s air campaign, which until now had largely avoided direct strikes on central government buildings in Kyiv. The targeting of the Cabinet of Ministers building is likely to be viewed as a symbolic as well as strategic act, underscoring the continuing intensity of the conflict as it enters its third year.
