KYIV, Ukraine — Four people were killed after Russia unleashed a massive combined attack on Kyiv early Friday, sparking fires and scattering debris across many districts of the capital, Ukrainian authorities said.
At least 29 people were injured as emergency crews responded to multiple strikes, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration. At least 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the attack across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He said the attack, which struck other regions of the country, was targeting Kyiv. “A specially calculated attack to cause as much harm as possible to people and civilian infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. He added the Azerbaijan Embassy was damaged by fragments of an Iskander missile.
Nine people were hospitalized, including a pregnant woman, after a series of powerful explosions sounded in the city and airs defenses were activated.
There may still be people under the rubble, Kyiv’s military administration said, with rescue operations ongoing.
City authorities warned that power and water outages were possible after damage to residential buildings was recorded in 7 districts of the capital.
“Let’s be honest, such massive attacks when simultaneously more than a hundred drones, ballistic and cruise missiles are directed at our city, even our air defense forces can’t guarantee complete protection,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told reporters Friday, as he urged residents to stock up on drinking water and warm clothes.
In the broader Kyiv region, Russian strikes damaged critical infrastructure and private homes, injuring at least one civilian, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said. A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva suffered thermal burns and was hospitalized, he said. Fires broke out in private houses in the capital’s suburbs.
As is usually the case with such attacks, Russia’s defense ministry issued a statement later Friday saying its forces targeted Ukraine’s “military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure” with “high-precision long-range weapons” overnight, but made no mention of civilian sites hit.
The latest Russian attack comes as peace negotiations, led by the U.S., have all but stalled after President Donald Trump put on hold a planned summit with Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin also vowed to resume nuclear testing if Trump follows through on his order to do so, and the Russian army appears closer to taking control of a key city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Millions face severe power outages in Ukraine, in the thick of its fourth winter under Russian attacks meant to undermine its resolve, while a $100 million kickback scandal in Ukraine’s energy sector has fueled public anger.
