Russia hammers Ukraine with drones and missiles for third straight day
As dawn broke on a clear day in Kyiv, a scene of devastation came into focus in the capital’s leafy Darnytsia neighbourhood, located between a suburban forest and the Dnieper River.
Wisps of smoke rose from the collapsed nine-storey apartment block, where emergency workers dug under concrete slabs and took people away on stretchers.
The building’s entrance was smashed in the strike, preventing residents from escaping.
All 18 apartments in the building were destroyed, officials said.
Among the dead was a 12-year-old girl, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Mr Zelensky said seven people were killed, with at least 20 people believed to be missing.
Mr Klitschko declared Friday to be a day of mourning for the victims.
Ukrainian officials noted that the attack coincided with US President Donald Trump’s trip to China.
Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have sufficient leverage to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
“At the very time when leaders of the most powerful countries are meeting in Beijing, and the world hopes for peace, predictability and co-operation, Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at the capital of Ukraine,” Mr Sybiha wrote on X.
“Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop,” he said of Mr Putin.
Russia fired ballistic and cruise missiles in the attack, Mr Zelensky said, adding that Moscow had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centres since Wednesday.
In all, some 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings, he said.
British Defence Secretary John Healey called Thursday’s attack “shocking” and said he had accelerated UK deliveries of air defences.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the military aimed at Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including air bases and fuel and transport facilities, claiming it hit all its targets.
Among the weapons deployed, it said, were Kinzhal missiles, which Moscow says can fly at 10 times the speed of sound.
Russia has hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks following a May 9-11 ceasefire that Mr Trump said he asked Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin to heed.
Fighting continued over those 72 hours, although reportedly at a reduced intensity.
The attacks undercut recent suggestions from Mr Trump and Mr Putin that the war, which began with Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbour in 2022, is nearing its end.
More than 30 people were injured in the apartment building collapse, while emergency workers rescued 28 residents, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Damage was reported in six districts of the capital, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s Military Administration.
The Kyiv office of defence contractor Skyeton, specialising in reconnaissance drones, was destroyed in the overnight attack, although the company said it had anticipated such a development and had relocated its production.
Russian drones also struck a vehicle carrying UN staff who were delivering aid to residents of Kherson in southern Ukraine, Mr Sybiha said.
The vehicle was marked and was attacked twice, in two different locations, but nobody was hurt, he said.
The Ukrainian cities of Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kharkiv, Sumy and Odesa were also bombarded, officials said.
“We are now experiencing the largest strikes since the start of the full-scale invasion,” air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.
Ukraine’s air defence forces are under severe strain, he said.
Even so, the interception rate of drones and missiles was over 93%, Mr Zelensky said.
Air defences shot down or jammed 693 Russian targets overnight, including 41 missiles and 652 drones of various types nationwide, the air force said.
Fifteen missiles and 23 drones scored direct hits across 24 locations, it said.
Debris from downed drones fell in another 18 locations.
Strikes on energy infrastructure left customers in Kyiv and 11 other regions temporarily without power, national grid operator Ukrenergo said.
On Wednesday, a rare daytime attack on Kyiv killed at least six people, Mr Zelensky said.
That assault, which involved 800 drones, struck about 20 regions and was among the longest such attacks of the war.
In other developments:
– The Hungarian government summoned the Russian ambassador over a drone attack near Hungary’s border with Ukraine. The step marked a stark shift in tone by new Prime Minister Peter Magyar towards Moscow after years of cosy relations with the Kremlin under former leader Viktor Orban.
– Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned after her government’s coalition partner withdrew its support and left her without a majority. The government has been under pressure over its handling of multiple incidents involving stray drones suspected to be from Ukraine crossing into Latvian territory.
