In the deadliest aerial onslaught of the war to date, Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of 367 drones and missiles across Ukrainian cities, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 60, according to Ukrainian authorities. The unprecedented attack targeted cities nationwide, including the capital Kyiv, and has been condemned by Ukrainian officials as a deliberate act of terror.
“This was a combined, ruthless strike aimed at civilians,” Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. “The enemy once again showed that its goal is fear and death.”
The attack included 298 drones and 69 missiles, of which Ukraine’s air defence reportedly intercepted 266 drones and 45 missiles. Despite these efforts, the assault caused widespread damage across multiple cities and regions.
In the northern Zhytomyr region, three children were among the dead, local officials confirmed. Kyiv escaped fatalities but recorded 11 injuries, while four people were killed in surrounding areas. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, drone strikes hit three districts and injured three people. Mykolaiv in the south saw a 77-year-old man killed and five others wounded. Four more lives were lost in the western region of Khmelnytskyi.
The strikes come amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations and a series of prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine. Over a three-day period, both nations exchanged 1,000 prisoners each, completing the final phase of the agreed deal on Saturday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticised what he described as global indifference to Russia’s continued aggression, particularly singling out the United States.
“The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” he wrote on Telegram. “Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.”
The Ukrainian President’s Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, echoed those concerns, warning that without greater international pressure, Moscow would only escalate its attacks.
“Moscow will fight as long as it has the ability to produce weapons,” Yermak stated.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed it had intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones aimed at Russian territory, with 12 reportedly downed near Moscow.
The aerial assault marks the second large-scale attack in as many days, following a Friday night barrage on Kyiv that lasted into the early hours of Saturday.
While ceasefire discussions continue, the intensity of the latest strikes has cast doubt over the near-term prospects of a negotiated pause in the conflict, now stretching into its third year.
