Russia launched heavy attacks on Ukraine overnight, with officials on Thursday reporting at least 13 people dead in the capital Kiev, as Ukraine's SBU security service confirmed an attack on a Russian refinery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that at least 13 people had been killed in the capital. Initial reports from Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko had put the death toll at 10. Klitschko reported at least 86 people injured.
Kiev was the main target of the overnight barrage. According to Ukrainian officials, Russia used combat drones, cruise missiles and other missiles in the assault.
Several residential buildings were destroyed, and rescue workers were continuing to search the rubble for more dead and injured.
The Kyiv Independent described the attack as one of the heaviest since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Residents in Kiev reportedly took shelter in metro stations, with many spending the night underground in tents.
After initial strikes on Wednesday evening, air raid sirens were triggered again in the early morning hours. The outlet reported that nearly a dozen Russian bombers were in the air, followed by what it described as extremely loud explosions that were audible even in deep underground shelters.
Air raid alerts and explosions were also reported in other parts of the country, including Zaporizhzhya and Pavlohrad in the south-east, as well as Sumy and Kharkiv in the north-east. Zaporizhzhya Governor Ivan Fedorov said in the morning that three people had been injured. Further information on possible damage or casualties in the other cities was not immediately available.
On Thursday, the Russian military listed several defence plants in Kiev that it said were targeted in the nighttime air raid. These included the Antonov aircraft factory, where drones are built, and two radio-electronics factories producing control systems for drones and missiles.
The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukraine has not provided information regarding possible hits.
Zelensky warned of major attack
Zelensky had warned on Wednesday of an imminent large-scale attack on Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference in Dublin during a visit marking Ireland's takeover of the rotating EU presidency, Zelensky said: "Today there is unpleasant information about the next preparation for such a massive Russian attack."
He said he would return to Ukraine immediately after the press conference and urged people in his country to heed air raid warnings and seek shelter.
After the attack, Zelensky called for faster air defence aid, writing on X that air defence supplies "are an absolute and critical priority."
He stressed the importance of every contribution 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 added.
He also expressed the hope that the US would grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot defence missiles.
Ukraine attacks a Russian refinery on the Volga
Media reported on Thursday that Ukraine had attacked a Russian refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region on the Volga River.
The Ukrainian SBU security service later confirmed the attack on the refinery and a nearby oil pumping station. It said on Telegram that despite strong air defences in the area, at least two fires had broken out in the industrial area surrounding the oil facilities.
Gleb Nikitin, the governor of the western Russian region, wrote on Telegram of "minor damage to an industrial facility and several residential buildings" caused by falling drone debris.
One person was killed and four others were injured in the attack, Nikitin added.
Images and videos circulating on social media show a fire believed to have originated at the oil refinery in Kstovo, a town about 30 kilometres south-east of Nizhny Novgorod. The processing plant, which belongs to the oil company Lukoil, is one of the largest in Russia.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than four years and has, for months, been targeting the Russian oil industry. As a result, a fuel shortage has broken out in Russia.
