Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine overnight on Friday, deploying 550 drones and missiles in strikes across the country.
Kyiv was the main target of Moscow’s strikes, with at least 23 people injured and 14 of them hospitalised, according to Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The Ukrainian capital was hit directly by nine missiles and 63 drones, causing damage in eight different areas. Debris from the attacks also fell across more than 30 other locations around the city.
Kyiv resident Joseph Haim Roche, whose brother-in-law is defending Ukraine at the frontlines, told Euronews that recent attacks on the city have intensified.
“The Shahed drones are far more numerous and deadlier than before, we tend to take shelter even for drone attacks—we’ve all got a bit paranoid,” he said.
Roche recounted his experience after spending a night in a Kyiv metro station, which residents use as a shelter during air raids.
“In recent nights, we’ve been going to the metro. There’s a shelter less than 100 metres from our place, but it’s impossible to spend the night there. It’s damp, there’s not enough space, and during major attacks, it gets way too crowded,” Roche said.
“Honestly, I’m tired, but I think it’s not just because of that. It’s been three and a half years of war, you know, so we’re starting to get a bit … it’s started to become hard, I guess”.
Zelenskyy: Russia shows no intention of ending the war
Friday night’s attack left homes, a school, shops, a medical facility, and many other civilian infrastructures damaged in the city, according to Klitschko.
Following fires set off by the strikes, residents have been warned about a sharp decline in air quality due to the smoke around the city. Officials have urged Kyiv citizens to keep their windows closed as a precaution.
The hardest-hit districts include Solomianskyi, Holosiivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi and Shevchenkivskyi.
The city’s railway infrastructure was also damaged, resulting in delays of up to two hours for passengers.
According to Ukraine’s air defence forces, 539 Shahed-type drones and decoys were used in the attack, as well as six ballistic missiles, four Iskander cruise missiles, and one Kinzhal aeroballistic missile.
However, 478 of the aerial attacks were shot down or neutralised via electronic warfare, and two of the cruise missiles were shot down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was one of the largest-scale air attacks, calling it “deliberately massive and cynical”.
Ukraine’s president pointed out that the first air raid alerts across the country went off “almost simultaneously with media reports discussing a phone call between President Trump and Putin”.
“Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror”, Zelenskyy said.
“All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behavior”, Ukraine’s president added, calling on the US to put more pressure on Russia with tougher sanctions.
“For every such strike against people and human life, they must feel appropriate sanctions and other blows to their economy, their revenues, and their infrastructure.”
“This is the only thing that can be achieved quickly to change the situation for the better. And it depends on our partners, primarily the United States,” Zelenskyy concluded.
