Russia launched one of its most intense waves of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine on Wednesday, targeting Kyiv and several other regions across the country. Ukrainian officials said the strikes killed at least 20 people, including children, and injured around 50 others. The heaviest casualties were reported in Pryluky in the Chernihiv region, where a Russian missile destroyed a five-storey residential building, killing at least 14 people, including four children.
The overnight barrage also caused damage to residential buildings, industrial facilities and energy infrastructure in several areas, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted more than 80% of the 46 jet-powered drones launched during the attack, but Ukrainian officials said ballistic missiles remain a major challenge for the country’s air-defence systems. Several Kyiv residents spent the night sheltering in underground metro stations as explosions were heard across the capital.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive strike” using high-precision weapons launched from land, sea and air, along with drones. Moscow claimed the attacks targeted military-industrial facilities, including sites linked to the production and storage of Ukrainian missiles and drones, as well as port and ship-repair infrastructure in the Odesa region. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy infrastructure was among the key targets and called for additional air-defence systems, particularly Patriot missiles, as the conflict continues to intensify.