Kyiv, Ukraine — A massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital early Thursday, including a rare strike in the center of the city, killed at least ten people and wounded some 48, local authorities said.
It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 629 drones and missiles and Ukraine downed all but 40 of them, adding that it was the second biggest such attack of the war, Reuters and AFP reported.
Among the dead were two children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing preliminary information. The numbers were expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull out people trapped underneath the rubble.
"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. "We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions."
Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city administration. At least 20 locations across seven districts of Kyiv were impacted. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall, and thousands of windows were shattered, he said.
Meanwhile the Kremlin's Defense Ministry said Russia intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, Reuters reported, adding that Ukraine's drone forces commander said his country's attack targeted oil refineries in Afipsky and Kuybyshevskyi.
Moscow denies targeting civilians but has increased strikes in the last few months on Ukrainian towns and cities a long way from the war's front lines.
Russian strikes hit the central part of Kyiv, one of the few times Russian attacks have reached the heart of the city since the start of the full-scale invasion. Residents cleared shattered glass and debris from damaged buildings.
Smoke billowed from the crumbled column of a five-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district that suffered a direct hit. An acrid stench of burning material wafted in the air as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Amid the destruction, emergency responders searched for survivors and extracted bodies. Crowds of residents stood nearby, waiting for relatives to be retrieved from the rubble. Bodies in black bags were placed at the side of the building.
Residents in the neighborhood said it wasn't the first time their district was targeted.
Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.
"It's inhuman, striking civilians," he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. "With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid."
Ukraine's national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and forcing trains to use alternative routes.
Thursday's attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
While a diplomatic push for peace appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged about next steps.
Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more ground.
Zelenskyy hopes for harsher U.S. sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Putin doesn't demonstrate seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands following Thursday's attack.
"All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined," Zelenskyy said.
Mr. Trump bristled this week at Putin's stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy. He said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren't scheduled.
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