At least three people were killed and 49 wounded early Friday as Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine, striking the capital Kyiv and multiple cities in what officials described as one of the largest aerial assaults of the war.
The strike came days after Ukrainian drone attacks destroyed several strategic Russian bomber aircraft deep inside Russia, prompting a stern warning from President Vladimir Putin, relayed through U.S. President Donald Trump, that retaliation was imminent.
According to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, the three fatalities in Kyiv were emergency responders who were killed while attempting to reach a strike site. Powerful explosions shook the capital throughout the night, prompting many residents to take shelter in metro stations and underground garages.
“Overnight, Russia ‘responded’ to its destroyed aircraft by attacking civilians in Ukraine,” said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on X. “Multi-storey buildings were hit, and energy infrastructure damaged.”
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 407 drones, a record number for a single assault—along with 45 cruise and ballistic missiles. Kyiv’s metro system was partially disabled when a strike damaged tracks between stations, while the national rail company said some trains were being rerouted due to infrastructure damage.
In Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, a drone slammed into an apartment building, carving a deep gash into its side and setting fire to several vehicles parked below. Reuters journalists on the scene reported seeing pieces of a drone engine amid the debris as police investigators combed through the wreckage.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack and reiterated his plea for Ukraine’s Western allies to apply greater pressure on Moscow. “If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives, that is complicity,” he wrote on X. “We must act decisively.”
Beyond Kyiv, strikes hit other regions with devastating impact. In the western city of Ternopil, a strike on industrial infrastructure knocked out electricity and released toxic fumes, prompting health warnings and injuring 10 people, local authorities said. Another 15 were injured in Lutsk after an attack damaged homes, schools, and a government building.
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed the strikes were in response to Ukrainian “terrorist acts” and targeted military-related facilities. Ukrainian forces, however, had reportedly preempted the Russian assault with overnight attacks on Russia’s Engels and Dyagilevo air bases, as well as several fuel depots.
The exchange follows what Ukrainian officials described as one of the most daring operations of the war: last weekend, Ukrainian operatives used small drones hidden in wooden sheds to destroy strategic Russian bombers stationed hundreds of kilometers from the front.
After speaking with Putin earlier this week, President Trump warned that Moscow was planning an unspecified response, a warning that now appears to have materialized with deadly consequences.
Written By Rodney Mbua
