A devastating overnight drone and missile attack by Russian forces on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has killed at least nine people and left several others injured, according to Ukraine’s emergency services. The most severe damage occurred in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where a section of a five-story apartment building collapsed, prompting an intense rescue operation. Emergency responders and firefighters worked tirelessly to pull out people feared trapped beneath the rubble.
In addition to the casualties in Kyiv, another person was killed and eight others injured in the city of Bila Tserkva, located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) southwest of the capital.
The assault comes less than a week after a major combined Russian strike on Kyiv last Tuesday that killed 28 people, including 23 in a residential building destroyed by a direct missile hit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called that earlier strike “one of the biggest bombardments of the war,” which has now entered its fourth year.
The latest attack struck residential areas, hospitals, and sports infrastructure across several Kyiv districts. According to emergency officials, five people died in the collapsed apartment building, while ten others, including a pregnant woman, were rescued from a nearby high-rise that was also severely damaged.
Scenes from the aftermath showed burned-out and mangled vehicles littering the courtyard in front of the destroyed building. Onlookers, some wrapped in blankets, watched in tears as dozens of volunteers and rescue workers cleared shattered glass, fallen tree branches, and other debris.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, speaking from the scene, expressed hope that the death toll would not rise further, although search efforts were still underway in the collapsed structure for possible survivors or additional casualties.
