Russia Launches Deadly Drone and Missile Attacks on Kyiv, Killing 27

Kyiv. Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early Thursday morning on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured in this attack, considered the deadliest of the year.

About 130 buildings were damaged due to the attacks. Kyiv city was shaken by a series of explosions throughout the night, and thousands of residents fled to bomb shelters and underground metro stations to save their lives. A large plume of smoke was seen in the sky after the attack.

The head of the capital's military administration, Timur Tkachenko, informed via Telegram that the death toll reached 27 and 91 people were injured after one injured person died in the hospital. He warned that the death toll could still rise as rescue teams worked through the night to search for people trapped under the rubble.

He said five bodies were recovered from a site in the eastern suburb on the left bank of the Dnipro River, and eight people are still missing. Tkachenko stated that rescue teams would work continuously until all debris was cleared, mentioning, 'Unfortunately, more victims may be found.'

The scale and extent of this destruction across the capital Kyiv, in the fifth year of the war, is unprecedented. Previously, 24 people were killed in an attack on Kyiv last May. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hastily returned home cutting short his visit to Ireland, inspected a partially collapsed 9-story residential building.

He blamed the allied nations for the partial responsibility for this destruction for failing to provide air defense systems as promised. Zelenskyy, appearing very tired and disappointed, said, 'If our partners had fulfilled their promises on time, I think we could have saved many more homes and lives today. We are only asking our partners to do what has been agreed upon, we are not asking for more.'

Later, in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said that a 'key outcome' of the NATO summit in Turkey next week would be the issue of air defense systems. He reiterated his call for the development of a European air defense system, saying, 'If NATO truly means something to its allies, then Europe must have its own sufficient capabilities to defend against all types of threats, including Russian ballistic missiles.'

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight. Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said the number of ballistic missiles was unusually high and the interception rate was low. Ukraine has been facing a shortage of Patriot missiles in recent months.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a Telegram post that the 'large-scale attack' using long-range, precision-guided aerial, ground, and sea weapons, as well as drones, struck military and energy facilities and airfields in Kyiv and other locations.

Moscow said the attack was retaliation for Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia. Kyiv, which has intensified attacks on Russia's internal fuel supply in recent weeks, claimed to have attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region overnight, where the governor reported one person died in an attack on an industrial center. The Kremlin said Russian military commanders had briefed President Vladimir Putin on the Russian attacks and that Moscow would increase pressure to achieve its war aims.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared Friday a day of mourning in Kyiv. He said some buildings in the city, with a population of about 3 million, suffered significant damage. The Ukrainian Red Cross posted on social media platform X that its humanitarian aid warehouse in Kyiv was destroyed and published a picture of the collapsed building. It was stated that 320,000 relief items were destroyed with the destruction of the warehouse, and this 'affected emergency rescue and humanitarian work across Ukraine.'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the attack. His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described these attacks as part of a 'deadly pattern' of attacks on densely populated areas.

Zelenskyy has proposed peace talks with Putin, which the Kremlin leader has already rejected. Zelenskyy stated that talks were held between Ukrainian and US negotiators in the past two days and expressed hope to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.