Russia launched a massive overnight assault on Ukraine, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles across several regions, leaving at least four people dead and dozens more injured, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the capital Kyiv was the primary target of the attacks, although multiple other regions were also struck. According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 83 people were injured nationwide, including 69 in Kyiv alone.
Explosions were heard throughout Kyiv and surrounding areas overnight into Sunday, as emergency crews responded to widespread damage to residential buildings, schools, shopping centres and public infrastructure.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed inside the city, while another two fatalities were reported in the wider Kyiv region. Among the damaged sites was a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, where a fire erupted after a missile strike hit the upper floors.
Authorities also reported that debris from another strike blocked the entrance to an air raid shelter at a school, temporarily trapping several people inside.
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed the attacks were carried out in retaliation for what it described as Ukrainian “attacks on civilian infrastructure.” Moscow also claimed that the strikes targeted Ukrainian military command centres and intelligence facilities, although Kyiv has not confirmed those claims.
The ministry further stated that Russia used the Oreshnik hypersonic missile during the assault. The missile, reportedly capable of travelling at more than 10 times the speed of sound, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
President Zelensky later said in a Telegram post that an Oreshnik missile had been launched at the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. However, Ukraine’s presidential office later said investigations were still underway to determine the exact weapons used in the attack.
The latest assault came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of launching a deadly strike on a student dormitory in the occupied town of Starobilsk, where 21 people were reportedly killed on Friday.
Ukraine’s military acknowledged carrying out a strike near Starobilsk but insisted it targeted an elite Russian military unit rather than civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched around 90 missiles and 600 drones from Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Preliminary data indicated that 55 missiles and 549 drones were intercepted or shot down, while another 19 missiles likely failed to reach their intended targets.
In addition to Kyiv, attacks were also reported in the regions of Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and Zhytomyr, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
The reported use of the Oreshnik missile drew international condemnation. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the move, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described it as “reckless nuclear brinkmanship” and a “political scare tactic.”
Kallas said European Union foreign ministers would discuss additional measures to increase pressure on Russia during meetings next week.