Russia Launches Massive Assault on Kyiv, Ukraine Retaliates with Drones and Missiles

Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital yesterday, damaging over 30 residential buildings across multiple districts. The assault killed at least one elderly woman and injured 24 others, including a pregnant woman and a 10-year-old boy, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Kyiv's military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said Russian forces specifically targeted residential buildings. "There are many high-rise buildings that were damaged throughout Kyiv, in every district," he told reporters. The attack also damaged parts of the city's heating network, temporarily cutting off heat to some buildings in the Desnianskyi district.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko called it a "large-scale attack" and urged residents to seek shelter as fires broke out across the city. France Presse correspondents reported hearing powerful explosions in the city center and witnessed air defense systems engaging incoming missiles and drones.

Russia's defense ministry claimed it intercepted and destroyed 216 Ukrainian drones the night before, including 66 over the Krasnodar region and 59 over the Black Sea. The drone attacks reportedly hit an oil refinery in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea coast, where falling debris sparked fires that were later brought under control. The strikes also damaged a residential building and injured a civilian there, plus hit a civilian ship in the city's port, wounding three crew members.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his forces used "Long Neptune" cruise missiles to strike targets inside Russia during the same period. "Our warriors successfully used Long Neptune missiles to hit specific targets on Russian territory, and this is our completely fair response," he wrote on X, adding that Ukrainian missiles are achieving "increasingly important and accurate results almost every month."

The escalation comes as Russia intensifies its bombardment of Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, energy grid, and railway network in recent weeks. With temperatures dropping and winter approaching, Moscow appears to be targeting Ukraine's ability to heat homes and maintain basic services. Russian forces continue advancing in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region where most recent fighting has concentrated, maintaining their military advantage in equipment and resources since the conflict began in 2022.