‘Massive enemy attack’: Russia pounds Ukraine’s Kyiv, killing six

A “massive” Russian attack on Kyiv has killed at least six people with more than 30 others injured, according to the head of the Kyiv city military administration, Tymur Tkachenko.

More than 40 people had to be rescued as a result of the overnight assault into Friday, Ukraine’s emergency services added, with fires or damage to residential buildings reported in most of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts.

A separate Russian drone attack on Chornomorsk, a coastal city in the south, killed two people on Friday, according to Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper. Seven others were injured in the strike.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that the Kyiv barrage was “a wicked attack” which killed several and injured dozens, including children and a pregnant woman. He said “about 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the strike, including ballistic and aeroballistic missiles. This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure.

“The main target of the attack was Kyiv, and strikes also hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions,” he added.

Earlier, Kyiv police said an elderly woman was killed, while a 10-year-old boy was among the injured.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko described it as a “massive enemy attack”, saying a pregnant woman and a man in an “extremely serious condition” were among the hospitalised.

A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva who suffered thermal burns was rushed to hospital, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the Kyiv region, who said Russian missiles and drones had targeted critical infrastructure in Kyiv.

Klitschko confirmed that the Russian attack had damaged part of the city’s heating networks, noting that some buildings in the northeastern Desnianskyi district were temporarily left without heat.

Late on Friday, President Zelenskyy issued a statement saying the government is “preparing special decisions that can strengthen our defence” in front-line regions, including by increasing deployment of and resources for dedicated drone units.

Before another punishing winter of war, Moscow has intensified its attacks on targets including Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, increasing the risk of heating outages.

Friday morning’s attack also struck residential buildings throughout the Ukrainian capital.

“Russians are hitting residential buildings. There are a lot of damaged high-rise buildings throughout Kyiv, almost in every district,” said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration.

Drone attacks on Russia

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had shot down more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight.

“During the past night, air-defence assets intercepted and destroyed 216 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles,” it wrote on Telegram.

Later on Friday, a top Russian nuclear official said that around eight Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in southwest Russia overnight, but all were shot down.

Alexei Likhachev, CEO of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said several units of the plant were disconnected from the grid, but operations were restored in the morning.

Russia and Ukraine have each accused the other of risking catastrophe by attacking nuclear sites in the course of the war.

Late on Friday evening, Russian air defences intercepted 13 Ukrainian drones, according to the Defence Ministry.

In a statement cited by Russia’s TASS news agency, it said five of the drones were shot down over the Rostov region, one over Belgorod, one over Bryansk, one over Voronezh region, and five over Russian-annexed Crimea.

The latest attack on Kyiv comes two days after G7 foreign ministers reiterated their “unwavering” support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and demanded an immediate ceasefire.

As part of international efforts to hold Russia to account for its actions since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada unveiled new sanctions against Moscow on Wednesday.

The measures targeted the country’s drone and energy production, and infrastructure used to launch cyberattacks.

Zelenskyy said on Friday after the huge attack on Kyiv, “All of this must end. A great deal of work is underway with partners to strengthen our air defense, but it is not enough. We need reinforcement with additional systems and interceptor missiles. Europe and the United States can help. We are counting on real decisions. Thank you to everyone who helps.”