Russian Strikes Kill 10 in Kyiv as Zelenskiy Urges Tougher Sanctions

Kyiv: Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight drone and missile assault on Kyiv, killing 10 people, including a child, and injuring at least 38 others, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday. The strikes caused extensive damage across seven districts of the capital, destroying residential blocks and other buildings.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack as further proof of Moscow’s rejection of diplomacy, even as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to broker an end to the war. “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war,” Zelenskiy said on X, calling for stronger international sanctions against Russia.

The barrage triggered a nine-hour air alert in Kyiv, with explosions lighting up the night sky and thick plumes of smoke rising over the city. Rescue teams worked through the night, extinguishing fires and searching the rubble for survivors.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 563 of 598 drones and 26 of 31 missiles launched in the nationwide attack. Despite the interceptions, strikes were recorded at 13 locations, with debris falling in 26 others. “Unfortunately, the Russians’ style is typical—combined strikes from different directions, systematically targeting ordinary residential buildings,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram.

Authorities said numerous high-rise apartment blocks and other buildings were damaged. In the eastern Darnytskyi district, part of a five-storey residential building was destroyed, and rescue workers continued to search for trapped residents. Emergency crews were responding at more than 20 sites across the capital.

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has intensified aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities far from the front lines in recent months.

Meanwhile, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said its air defences had intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, which targeted at least seven Russian regions. Ukrainian drone forces confirmed strikes on the Afipsky and Kuybyshevskyi oil refineries.