Russia launched a massive overnight assault on Kyiv on Sunday using waves of missiles and drones, killing at least four people across the capital and nearby regions while injuring dozens more, according to Ukrainian officials. The large-scale attack triggered fires, damaged residential and commercial buildings, and forced terrified residents to spend hours sheltering underground as explosions echoed across the city throughout the night.
The attack began shortly after 1 am local time when powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv following warnings issued by Ukraine’s air force through Telegram. Ukrainian authorities had earlier warned that Russia could potentially deploy its hypersonic Oreshnik missile during the strikes.
Despite the warning, Ukraine’s air force did not immediately confirm whether an Oreshnik missile had actually been used in the assault. Officials later declined to comment further when questioned about the possibility.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said at least two people were killed directly inside the city while 56 others were injured during the attacks. According to him, around 30 of the wounded had to be hospitalised due to the severity of their injuries.
Klitschko also confirmed that some damage had been reported near Kyiv’s historic Independence Square, one of the most symbolic locations in Ukraine’s capital.
“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” Klitschko said in a message posted on Telegram while visiting one of the damaged locations. He stated that emergency crews, firefighters, and rescue workers were continuing operations across multiple sites.
“Right now, rescuers are putting out fires and clearing debris. Medics are providing assistance to the victims,” he added.
As explosions intensified during the night, thousands of residents rushed into underground metro stations seeking protection from the bombardment. Families, elderly residents, and children spent several hours inside shelters while blasts continued to shake the city above ground.
A 62-year-old resident identified as Nataliia Zvarych said she hurried to a nearby metro station after hearing the first explosions.
“It was terrifying, scary,” she said while describing the overnight attack. “We have been sitting here for more than three hours now, listening to the explosions up there.”
Officials from Kyiv’s military administration later revealed that more than 40 different locations across the city had sustained some form of damage during the strikes. The affected sites reportedly included residential buildings, office complexes, warehouses, shops, and parts of public infrastructure.
The attacks were not limited to Kyiv alone. Authorities also reported strikes in several surrounding areas of Ukraine. According to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk, two additional people were killed and nine others injured in attacks targeting the wider Kyiv region surrounding the capital.
As daylight emerged over the city, the scale of destruction became increasingly visible. Thick black smoke from several fires drifted across Kyiv’s skyline, while the smell of burning materials spread through parts of the capital.
Firefighters continued battling flames at damaged buildings while rescue workers searched through debris and evacuated injured residents from affected structures.
Images released from the scene showed that the front section of a five-storey residential apartment building had collapsed due to the impact of the strikes. Officials also confirmed damage to offices, commercial shops, warehouses, and even the entrance area of a metro station used as a shelter during the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned on Saturday that Russia appeared to be preparing another major strike involving the Oreshnik missile. Zelenskyy stated that the warning was based on intelligence information shared by Ukrainian agencies along with partners from the United States and Europe.
Russia has reportedly used the Oreshnik missile against Ukraine twice before. The missile is believed to have a range of several thousand kilometres and is reportedly capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously boasted about the missile’s capabilities, claiming that it is nearly impossible to intercept because of its extremely high speed, reportedly exceeding ten times the speed of sound.
Zelenskyy’s warning about a possible Oreshnik strike came shortly after Putin ordered Russia’s military to prepare retaliatory measures against Ukraine following a separate incident in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region.
Russia had accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike on a student dormitory in occupied eastern Ukraine on Friday. Ukrainian authorities denied intentionally targeting civilians and instead stated that their forces had attacked a Russian drone command unit operating in the area.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Poland also reacted to the overnight strikes by activating military aviation and increasing readiness levels due to the scale of Russian attacks occurring near NATO territory.
However, the Polish military later confirmed that no violations of Polish airspace had been detected during the operation.
The latest Russian assault on Kyiv highlights the continuing escalation in the war, with increasingly intense missile and drone attacks targeting major urban centres, while fears grow over the potential use of advanced hypersonic weapon systems in the conflict.
