In what Ukrainian officials have called the most lethal assault on the capital in months, a massive overnight barrage of Russian missiles and drones flattened part of a residential apartment block in Kyiv, killing at least 16 people and injuring over 130 others.
The attack, which began late Monday and continued into the early hours of Tuesday, targeted 27 locations across the city, including residential buildings, schools, and critical infrastructure. A nine-story apartment building in the Solomianskyi district was struck directly, reducing an entire section to rubble. Emergency crews worked through the night to rescue survivors trapped beneath the debris.
“This was one of the most horrific attacks on Kyiv since the start of the war,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who condemned the strike as “pure terrorism.” He called on the international community to respond decisively to what he described as Russia’s continued war on civilians.
Among the dead was a 62-year-old U.S. citizen, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. In addition to the devastation in Kyiv, two people were killed and 17 injured in the southern port city of Odesa during a simultaneous drone assault.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine described the attack as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas. “The scale of destruction and civilian suffering is staggering,” said Danielle Bell, head of the mission.