Russia's massive overnight strike kills 24 across Kyiv and other regions

Russian missiles and drones hit Kyiv and at least 12 other Ukrainian regions overnight into Wednesday, killing at least 24 civilians, including four children, and injuring around 60, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned a day earlier that intelligence services had concluded Russia was preparing a “massive” strike, but Ukraine was unable to stop it completely.

The latest barrage underlined the pressure on Ukraine’s air defences as Russia steps up attacks with ballistic missiles and new jet-powered drones. The strikes came as the two sides remain locked in a long-range aerial war more than 4 1/2 years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion, with US-led peace efforts offering little immediate prospect of relief.

Ukrainian officials said a Russian strike destroyed an apartment block in Pryluky in the northern Chernihiv region, killing 18 people, including four children, and wounding about 50. Zelenskyy said three of the children were 1 year old and the fourth was 8 years old. Deaths were also reported in three other Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

Ukraine had anticipated the attack, which coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday, but the deaths and damage showed how hard it remains to counter Russia’s ballistic missiles and new jet-powered drones. Without ammunition for its US-made Patriot air defence systems, Ukraine cannot stop Russian ballistic weapons, and it is racing to develop a new generation of interceptors fast enough to catch the high-flying drones. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was searching worldwide for available Patriot missiles, which are in short supply because of the Iran war. “Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. And air defence packages for us right now are a vital necessity,” he said.

In Kremenchuk in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven were injured, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the regional military administration, who said a rescue operation was continuing. “That is exactly what the enemy is counting on. For us to be afraid to fall asleep. To let our children out of our sight. To plan anything. So that everyone thinks: next time it could be my address,” he said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its military had carried out a massive overnight strike targeting industrial facilities involved in the production and storage of missiles and drones across Ukraine. It also said port and ship repair facilities in the southern Odesa region, as well as ships carrying cargo for the Ukrainian military, were hit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X: “Russia is pursuing a deliberate strategy of terror. Trying to make daily life impossible for Ukrainians who want to live in peace.”

Russia and Ukraine are continuing their long-range aerial attacks as ground fighting remains largely deadlocked. The attacks are hurting Russia but could be ruinous for smaller Ukraine. US-led peace efforts appear unlikely to bring short-term relief, with the possibility of low-level technical talks still under discussion. Putin, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with the invasion in the belief that Ukrainians will buckle under the pressure and Kyiv’s Western supporters will not stay the course, Western analysts say.

Ukraine also said it had struck back with long-range drones and missiles aimed at Russian oil refineries and storage depots. Zelenskyy said Ukraine targeted two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions of Russia. Russian officials did not immediately comment. Zelenskyy also indicated that Ukraine had struck in the Black Sea, posting images of a fire that he said showed an oil tanker burning near the Russian city of Sochi. The images could not be independently verified. Some Russian online media late on Tuesday also posted the images, while unconfirmed media reports said the tanker was carrying oil from Novorossiysk to India and had been attacked by Ukrainian sea drones.

The overnight attacks, the heavy civilian toll in places including Pryluky and Kremenchuk, and Ukraine’s retaliatory strikes on Russian energy targets reflected the continuing intensity of the conflict as both sides press on with long-range attacks and diplomatic efforts remain stalled.

With PTI Inputs

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