Ukraine's capital Kiev endured one of its worst nights since the start of the war, after Russia launched rockets, cruise missiles and drones at the city of 3 million, killing at least 27 people and injuring 91 others,Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kiev's military administration, said on Thursday.
Seventy people had to be taken to hospital, according to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko. In the evening, rescue workers were still searching through the rubble for survivors and more victims.
Russia claimed the sites hit late Wednesday and early Thursday were purely military targets. Ukraine called for more Western help against such attacks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed retaliation.
"We are in favour of a just peace, a just end to the war, and as long as that does not exist, just responses," Zelensky told journalists at one of the impact sites in the capital.
Klitschko said a 10-year-old boy was among those seriously injured in the capital. "His parents were not found among the rubble," Klitschko wrote on Telegram, adding that the boy's grandfather was with him in hospital, where the child was undergoing surgery.
Several residential buildings were damaged in the barrage, with some partly or completely destroyed. A hotel and the building of a telecoms provider in the city centre were also hit. Several internet service providers reported disruptions.
Fresh Russian attacks were reported elsewhere in Ukraine later on Thursday.
In the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed and nine others injured, according to regional military governor Oleksandr Hanzha.
Hanzha said Russia targeted the districts of Dnipro, Nikopol and Synelnykove using drones, artillery, glide bombs and a missile.
In the Zaporizhzhya region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said seven people were injured in a Russian drone strike in the afternoon, including four minors aged between 6 and 16.
Russian occupation authorities also reported injuries in the occupied city of Lysychansk in the eastern Luhansk region, saying 12 people were hurt when a drone hit a bus. There was initially no comment from the Ukrainian side.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Russia attacks with full arsenal
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed 570 aerial objects during the overnight assault, including just under 500 drones. The Russian military also fired 24 Iskander ballistic missiles and around 50 cruise missiles of various types at Kiev. These included four Zircon hypersonic missiles, originally designed for use against naval targets.
The attack had been anticipated, with Zelensky warning his compatriots on Wednesday to expect an imminent large-scale strike. Nonetheless, the sheer number and variety of weapons overwhelmed Kiev's air defences, as Russia mounted several coordinated waves of attacks.
Ukraine regards itself as relatively effective at defending against drones. The military said it intercepted 524 aerial objects, mostly drones, overnight while the interception rate for cruise missiles remains significantly lower.
Western allies have provided Ukraine with air-defence systems, but the missiles used by them are expensive and in short supply, a situation that has become even more acute since the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Russia says military targets were hit
Despite the high number of civilian casualties, the Russian military said the strikes were carried out "with high-precision weapons" against military targets. According to Moscow, one of the sites hit was a factory producing guidance systems for Ukrainian Flamingo missiles.
Russia also claimed to have destroyed electronics plants and a fuel depot used by the Ukrainian military.
The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukraine has not commented on possible military damage.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the attacks, which spokesman Dmitry Peskov also described as targeting only "military or military-related facilities," according to the TASS news agency.
Zelensky calls for stronger air defences
Zelensky called for faster deliveries of air-defence equipment, writing on X that such supplies "are an absolute and critical priority."
He stressed the importance of contributions through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), under which NATO countries purchase weapons in the United States and transfer them to Ukraine.
"Every bilateral agreement we reach with our partners on air defense truly makes a difference," Zelensky said.
He also reiterated his hope that the United States would grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles.
EU prepares further sanctions
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that the bloc was preparing additional sanctions against Russia following the attacks.
"Words of condemnation alone will not stop attacks on Kyiv," Kallas wrote on X.
"Only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow can do that. Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia's military-industrial complex in response to the strikes."
Germany's Foreign Office also condemned the attacks.
"People were killed or injured in their sleep, homes were destroyed and civilian infrastructure, such as a medical facility, was severely damaged," a spokesman said.
The spokesman added that support for Ukraine would remain high on the agenda at next week's NATO summit in Turkey.
