Russia unleashed one of its most sustained aerial assaults on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, firing hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other regions overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
The attack, which lasted more than 12 hours, killed at least four people, including a child, and injured around 80 others. Two of the victims died when a cardiology clinic in the capital was hit.
Residential buildings, factories, and power facilities also suffered heavy damage.
Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles, of which 568 drones and 43 missiles were intercepted by air defences. Most of the barrage targeted Kyiv, where loud explosions and air-defence fire echoed through the night before the all-clear was given shortly after 9 a.m.
Neighbouring Poland briefly closed airspace near two southeastern cities and scrambled fighter jets in response to the attack before reopening skies once the danger had passed.
In a statement, Russia’s defence ministry confirmed a “massive” strike using long-range weapons and drones, claiming it had targeted military infrastructure including airfields. Moscow denies deliberately attacking civilians, though thousands have died and cities across Ukraine have been devastated during the war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the assault as “vile strikes” and urged international partners to take tougher measures against Moscow.
He called for sanctions focused on Russia’s energy sector and tanker fleet, saying, “The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20.”
The southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia was among the hardest hit, with nearly 40 people wounded in what Zelenskiy described as an “extraordinarily fierce” attack.
In Kyiv suburbs, Reuters reporters saw rows of newly built homes destroyed, cars crushed by debris, and residents picking through the wreckage of an apartment block with shattered windows.
The scale of the assault highlighted the pressure on Ukraine’s air defence network, which has been stretched thin in 2025.
Zelenskyy said a new Israeli-supplied Patriot missile system was now operational, with two more expected this autumn, but stressed Ukraine still urgently needed additional systems from allies.
As the U.N. General Assembly continues in New York, Zelenskyy warned that Russia was exploiting every moment to escalate its strikes. “While the world debates, Russia destroys,” he said in his nightly address.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
