Russian missile and drone strikes have killed at least 14 people and injured 44 in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials report. The massive aerial assault overnight into Tuesday struck 27 locations in the Ukrainian capital, damaging residential buildings and critical infrastructure. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko described the attack as one of the largest against Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
“Today, the enemy spared neither drones nor missiles,” Klymenko said, adding that thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, and emergency services were searching through the rubble for possible survivors. Mayor Vitali Klitschko noted that a United States citizen died from shrapnel wounds and people were injured in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, with fires breaking out in two other parts of the city.
Ukrainian officials quickly called for international attention on the attacks as Kyiv pushes diplomatic efforts to raise pressure on Moscow to agree a ceasefire. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha suggested the “massive and brutal strike” against Kyiv was deliberately timed, painting it as an insult to US President Donald Trump. “Putin does this on purpose, just during the G7 summit. He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing,” Sybiha wrote on social media.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking to persuade Trump to extend support to Ukraine and put additional pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree a ceasefire. Sybiha suggested the Russian president wanted to make G7 leaders “appear weak”. “Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong,” the diplomat added. Zelenskyy called the overnight strikes “one of the most horrific attacks” carried out by Moscow and declared that Putin “does this solely because he can afford to continue the war”.
The Russian strikes, which lasted throughout the night, came as world leaders met in Canada for the Group of Seven (G7) summit, where Zelenskyy is due to attend talks on Tuesday. Russia used 175 drones and more than 14 cruise missiles in the attack, Kyiv’s authorities said on Telegram. Officials in Odesa reported 13 people injured in further attacks on the Black Sea port city. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed its air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.