At least eight people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother, were killed and more than 130 others wounded in a massive overnight barrage of Russian drones and missiles on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
The assault — one of the most intense in months — struck over two dozen locations across the capital, with cruise missiles and Shahed drones pounding residential buildings and public infrastructure.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that 12 children were among the injured, making it the highest number of child casualties in a single night in Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles during the night. While Ukrainian air defences intercepted many, multiple projectiles penetrated the defence system, causing widespread destruction.
“A red-orange glow lit up the night sky as missiles struck,” said a local resident in Sviatoshynskyi district, one of the hardest hit areas alongside Solomyanskyi.
Three fatalities occurred at the site of a collapsed apartment building, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. “An entire entrance was destroyed. Rescuers are clearing the rubble,” he said.
The assault came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump shortened a deadline for a Russian ceasefire from 50 days to “ten or 12 days,” warning of increased sanctions if Moscow did not comply. Trump, on a recent UK visit, said he had expected a ceasefire to be in place and expressed frustration at what he called a “disconnect” between President Vladimir Putin’s private assurances and the continued strikes on Ukrainian cities.
“The world has yet again seen Russia’s response to our, America’s and Europe’s desire for peace,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. “More demonstrative murder. This is why peace without strength is impossible.”
Windows of a children’s hospital ward were shattered in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, while a school and kindergarten also sustained damage. Thirty of the wounded remained hospitalised by mid-afternoon. Meanwhile, on the eastern front, Russia claimed to have captured the hilltop town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region — a claim Ukraine denied. The Ukrainian military reported ongoing combat, while independent analysts from DeepState suggested Russia had gained partial control of the town’s eastern and northern zones.
Control of Chasiv Yar would offer Russia a strategic advantage to launch further assaults on cities including Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Analysts have warned that Pokrovsk, 60km southwest of Chasiv Yar, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to Russian encirclement amid growing pressure along the eastern front.
