Explosions ripped through Ukraine’s biggest cities overnight as Russia launched missile and drone strikes that authorities said killed at least nine people and injured more than 60, hitting Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv after days of Ukrainian warnings that Moscow was preparing a major assault.
The latest barrage came amid a grinding war in which Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power supply and other infrastructure, while Ukraine has intensified attacks this year on Russian oil facilities. Both sides deny deliberately striking civilians, though attacks have at times caused casualties.
In the southeastern city of Dnipro, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on messaging app Telegram that a combined missile and drone assault killed five people and wounded 25.
All of the injured were hospitalised in moderate condition, he said, sharing images that showed shattered residential buildings, torched vehicles and a children’s playground left damaged.
Kyiv also reported heavy losses. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least four people were killed and 51 injured across the capital, including children.
Mr Klitschko said a suspected missile strike hit a 24-storey apartment building, causing part of it to collapse and leaving people likely trapped beneath the rubble.
Thousands of residents took shelter in subway stations
He added that debris believed to be from a missile also sparked fires, including one that engulfed a nine-storey apartment block.
“In the Obolon district, cars are burning after being struck by falling missile debris,” Mr Klitschko said.
“There are also fires at two locations in open areas, including one near a kindergarten.”
Witnesses said thousands of Kyiv residents surged into subway stations to ride out the attack, some carrying mattresses and personal belongings, while the sound of air defences intercepting incoming targets echoed above ground.
Warnings of a major attack
Air raid sirens sounded across much of the country early in the day, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated the previous night that intelligence services continued to warn of a potentially large-scale strike.
“Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike is possible. They have prepared one,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“Our defenders are ready 24/7 to the fullest extent possible with the supplies currently available.”
Russia said last week it planned “systematic strikes” on sites in Kyiv it described as linked to the Ukrainian military, including what it called decision-making centres, and urged foreigners to leave the capital.
Moscow framed the threat as retaliation for a drone strike last month on a dormitory in Russian-held Luhansk, which it said killed 21 people. Ukraine denied carrying out that attack.
In Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that drone and missile strikes injured 10 people, including a child.
Across the border, Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in the southern Krasnodar region caught fire after a drone attack, local authorities said on Telegram.
Authorities in Sevastopol, the base of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Russia-occupied Crimea, said air defence systems were also working to repel drone attacks over the city.
Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.
The war has dragged on since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to an end have yielded little progress, with the administration of US President Donald Trump focused on conflicts in the Middle East.
