Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow launches deadly large-scale attack on Kyiv killing 13 and injuring 100

Days after Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant over the weekend, Moscow on Tuesday (local time) launched a large-scale, deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv.

The deadly attack damaged residential and commercial buildings and killed at least 13 people, CNN reported, citing authorities, who added that the strike was part of a broad offensive on targets across Ukraine.

Over 100 injured across the country

The officials noted that four people were killed in the capital city and nine in the central city of Dnipro, with over 100 wounded across the country, of whom 65 were injured in the city.

The Russian strikes were reported in Dnipro, where at least 35 people were injured, and Kharkiv, where 14 were hurt, including a child. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said that a rescue operation is underway at the site of a four-storey apartment building in Dnipro that authorities said was “effectively levelled,” as six people remain unaccounted for.

Residential buildings damaged

Images released from the country's State Emergency Services showed a fire engulfing a badly damaged house as firefighters tried to control the flames, while the windows and facade of what appears to be the front room of another debris-filled home were completely blown away.

According to the report, Kyiv's air defences appeared less active during a ballistic missile strike around 7 AM. A strong smell of smoke hung in the air across the city on Tuesday morning.

The overnight strikes also resulted in power outages and sent residents scrambling to shelters as air raid sirens sounded.

According to the mayor, a suspected missile strike targeted a 24-storey residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district, causing a fire, following which a blaze broke out in a nine-storey building in Podil after debris struck the roof. Elsewhere in the city, Russian strikes damaged a clinic, and debris fell on the grounds of a kindergarten, Klitschko added. In Bucha, three homes, warehouse facilities, and non-residential buildings were damaged, Kalashnyk said.

Ukrainian authorities react to overnight assault

Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv's mayor, described the overnight attack as a “massive enemy attack.” He added that there are fears that people remain trapped under the debris of a multi-storey apartment block in Podilsky district that partially collapsed after a “double tap” Russian strike.

Kyiv's regional governor, Mykola Kalashnyk, said, “Throughout the night, the enemy launched massive attacks on the Kyiv region using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Our peaceful towns and villages were once again under attack.”

Russia launches overnight assault in Kyiv

According to the Ukrainian military, Moscow's overnight assault involved over 656 drones and 73 missiles, including advanced hypersonics. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that the vast bulk of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.

Moscow fired at least eight of its advanced hypersonic Zircon missiles toward Ukraine, the air force said, noting that none were intercepted. Experts have previously told CNN that the Zircon missiles are nearly impossible to shoot down.

Russia's response to the assault

Reacting to the overnight assault, Moscow's Defence Ministry said its "massive strike" targeted Ukraine's defence, military, fuel, and transport facilities in several key regions in response to what it said were “terrorist acts committed by the Kyiv regime,” TASS reported.

According to the state news agency, the overnight assault included “high-precision long-range weapons,” including drones and “hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” launched from the air and sea. Moscow said it intercepted 148 Ukrainian drones but added that an oil refinery in Krasnodar had caught fire after a drone attack.

Moscow's attack came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a warning of a possible large-scale strike. The warning came after Russia last week said that it was beginning “systematic strikes” against military facilities in Kyiv.