Russian bombardments killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens in Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region overnight, authorities said on Thursday.
The massive missile attack on Kyiv struck residential areas and warehouses, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram Thursday.
In the early morning hours, rescuers in Kyiv were sifting through the rubble of destroyed buildings, including a damaged children's hospital, while grieving families watched as two bodies were pulled out of an apartment block.
"There used to be a building here, and now it's gone," said 45-year-old resident Maria Abramova.
She had only just reached her children's room after the air raid alert sounded when explosions rang out, blowing her windows out and "nearly killing" her husband.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later wrote on X that the death toll in the capital had risen and that 40 people had been wounded.
"The Russians had been preparing for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure," he wrote.
An attack in the Brovary district of the broader Kyiv region killed one man and wounded another, Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said.
"One industrial facility has been damaged. All relevant services are on site, working to extinguish the fire," he added.
Ukrainian air forces said on Telegram that Russia launched dozens of ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, as well as 168 drones in its overnight attack on the country.
It said that air defence units downed 145 drones and most of the cruise missiles but none of the missiles that run on ballistic trajectory.
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Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram that it hit facilities producing drone components, a military depot and a logistics hub.
Ukraine's air force had earlier warned of Russian "Kalibr" missiles in the vicinity of the village of Kagarlyk within the Kyiv region, heading towards the capital.
The attacks also prompted security responses in neighbouring NATO member states.
Poland's military command said it had mobilised aircraft and activated air defences aimed at protecting Polish airspace, particularly in areas bordering Ukraine.
Romania's defence ministry said radar systems detected aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight, prompting the scrambling of two Spanish fighter jets deployed on NATO missions and a Romanian air force helicopter.
The ministry said a drone entered Romanian airspace near Galati before crashing in an unpopulated area in Tulcea county.
Russia also reported a large Ukrainian drone attack.
Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 250 drones had flown towards the Moscow region between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with most destroyed at a significant distance from the capital itself.
"Twenty-eight drones were destroyed in the Moscow region," Sobyanin added.
While Kyiv has faced near-nightly attacks, Ukraine has also escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, in part to attempt to pressure Moscow into coming to the negotiating table to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
(the broadcaster with AFP and Reuters)
