Kyiv has been hit by one of the largest overnight drone-and-missile barrages of the war, leaving at least three people dead and more than two dozen injured, according to Ukrainian officials. The assault struck six districts across the capital, igniting large fires, damaging residential blocks, and crippling parts of the city’s power and heating network.
Authorities said Russia launched hundreds of drones alongside more than a dozen missiles, overwhelming air-raid sirens for hours. Although many of the incoming weapons were intercepted, falling debris caused severe destruction in several neighbourhoods, including Darnytskyi, Shevchenkivskyi and Sviatoshynskyi.
Emergency crews battled flames in high-rise buildings and schools while evacuating residents trapped under rubble. Hospitals treated civilians suffering burns, shrapnel wounds and smoke inhalation. Several medical centres themselves reported structural damage from shockwaves and debris.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike as a deliberate attempt to inflict maximum civilian harm. He said missile fragments also hit the Azerbaijani Embassy in Kyiv, adding to the diplomatic fallout from the attack. He renewed appeals for stronger international air-defence support, warning that Russia’s increasingly complex mixed-strike tactics are stretching Ukraine’s defensive systems.
Residents described the assault as chaotic and overwhelming. Many were jolted awake by explosions, racing to shelters as secondary blasts rang out. Witnesses said panic spread quickly as fires broke through rooftops and streets filled with smoke.
Kyiv’s mayor said the scale of the attack marked a sharp escalation, noting that Russia has intensified its use of drone swarms targeting urban infrastructure as winter approaches. Energy officials warned that further strikes could deepen power shortages and strain the grid.
In a rare same-day response, Ukraine carried out long-range strikes on strategic targets inside Russia, including an oil facility in the Novorossiysk area, signalling a continued effort to disrupt Moscow’s military logistics.
Despite successful interceptions, Kyiv’s authorities emphasised that debris from downed drones remains a deadly threat, urging residents to treat air-raid warnings with heightened caution.
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