SRINAGAR: At least four people have been killed and more than 70 injured after Russia launched a large-scale overnight assault involving hundreds of drones and missiles, including what officials described as a hypersonic weapon, across Kyiv and surrounding regions, Ukrainian authorities said, the BBC reported on Sunday
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, speaking to Reuters, confirmed that two people were killed in the capital and more than 77 injured, including children, as emergency crews responded to strikes across multiple districts. Kyiv regional authorities told BBC News that two further people were killed in surrounding areas, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue operations continued.
Firefighters battled fires at several locations across the capital on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, while rescue teams worked through the rubble of residential buildings in search of survivors, according to Ukrainian emergency services cited by The Guardian.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack involved around 600 drones and 90 missiles, mostly targeting Kyiv and nearby towns. In a statement reported by BBC News, he said Russia had used an “Oreshnik” intermediate-range ballistic missile in the strike on the Kyiv region town of Bila Tserkva.
The Russian Defence Ministry, as reported by TASS and other state media outlets, said it had used a range of systems including Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon missiles, describing the strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Moscow did not directly comment on civilian casualties.
Zelenskyy also said at least 83 people had been injured and claimed Western intelligence had warned that Russia was preparing to deploy hypersonic capabilities in the overnight assault.
The escalation follows continuing cross-border attacks between the two countries. Russian-installed officials in Luhansk told TASS that 18 people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled region on Saturday.
Emergency operations were continuing across Kyiv and surrounding districts as authorities assessed the full extent of casualties and damage.
