Rescuers are racing to find people feared trapped beneath rubble after the overnight missile and drone attack.
1 hour ago
Vitaly Shevchenko,Kyiv,
Toby Mannand
Harry Sekulich
AFP
A Russian missile and drone attack has killed at least 13 people across Ukraine, nine in Dnipro and four in the capital Kyiv, marking one of Moscow's largest assaults in recent months.
Dozens were also injured, including several children, after the overnight air strikes hit apartment blocks, with emergency crews racing to find people feared trapped beneath rubble in Kyiv.
Air raid warnings were in place across most of Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday.
Russia's defence ministry said the strikes had been a response to previous Ukrainian attacks, saying in a statement that the "strike objectives" had all been achieved.
Moscow last week warned it would launch "systematic strikes" after accusing Kyiv of a deadly attack on a student dormitory in an occupied part of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned a "massive strike" was possible in his nightly video address on Monday, and urged residents to pay special attention to air raid alerts.
On Tuesday morning, Zelensky said Russia had launched 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types - ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship - in the overnight attack.
"We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems", the Ukrainian president said, referring to interception hardware used to intercept Russian missiles.
Patriot missiles have been in short supply, exacerbated by the US and Israeli war against Iran.
Since coming to power last year, Trump has also stopped direct supplies to Ukraine, so Kyiv's European allies have been buying them from the US before sending them on to Ukraine.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the centre of the capital on Tuesday, where the head of its military administration warned ballistic missiles had been fired and the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to stay in shelters.
The buzz of drones could be heard between more than a dozen loud explosions as strikes made impact through the early morning.
The attack caused fires near a petrol station, a construction site, and several apartment blocks, as well as two houses, Klitschko said. Blackouts were also been reported across the city.
Elsewhere, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 10 people including a child were injured in overnight drone and missile strikes on the north-eastern city while an industrial facility was also attacked further south in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine's air force said Moscow had launched more than 650 drones and 70 missiles overnight, with 642 of the total shot down.
Reuters
Since a brief ceasefire expired in May, Russia has launched several waves of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, among them strikes on a block of flats that killed 24 people, including three children.
Days later, Ukraine responded with an attack on the Moscow region which Russian officials said had killed three people - which Zelensky said was "entirely justified".
Ukraine said Russia's threats were "nothing short of shameless blackmail" and urged allies to increase pressure on Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Reuters
According to CBS News on Tuesday, the same US Air Force pilot was shot down twice within weeks during the current conflict with Iran. After surviving a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses, the pilot was later rescued following the downing of an F-15E over Iran. Military officials d
Hungary has lifted its long-standing veto on EU arms reimbursements for Ukraine, unlocking €6.6 billion under the European Peace Facility after a two-year blockade. The move marks a shift in Budapest’s policy under new leadership and eases tensions within the EU over delayed military support. It als
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday in an unannounced visit, underscoring continued Alliance support for Ukraine. Ukrzaliznytsia briefly confirmed his arrival at Kyiv railway station before deleting the post, though images circulated online. Details of Rutte’s agenda are c
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has arrived in Ukraine on a visit on the morning of 3 June.