Four killed as Russia unleashes major missile and drone attack on Ukraine

At least four people were killed when Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight, with the capital Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.

It was the first major bombardment since an air attack on Kyiv killed at least 21 people last month.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties on Telegram, and said 10 others were injured in the attack that targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead.

“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” he wrote.

Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city centre.

Writing on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the large-scale attacks involved “nearly 500 strike drones and more than 40 missiles”.

He added: “This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world.”

He said as well as Kyiv, the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Mr Zelensky wrote that at least 40 people were wounded across the country, though Ukraine’s Interior Ministry later said the number of injured had increased to 70, with more than 100 civilian objects damaged.

Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said three children were among the 27 injured in the region, adding that two dozen buildings were damaged in the region’s capital that bears the same name.

In Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital, targeting residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a children’s nursery.

At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended.

“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”

At a multi-story residential building heavily damaged by a drone attack, a large section of the upper floors was gutted and windows blown out.

Emergency services personnel, including firefighters with an extended ladder, used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby pavements as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the assault had involved “hundreds of drones and missiles”.

Writing on X, he added: “We must maximise the cost of further escalation for Russia.”

Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attacks.

The assault also triggered military responses in neighbouring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early on Sunday as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.

International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov insisted his nation does not intend to attack Europe but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.

The latest bombardment followed Mr Zelensky’s announcement on Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States.

It includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the US will purchase directly.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.