Russia hammers Kyiv in largest missile and drone barrage since war began
Russia launched 539 drones, 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine on Thursday night, local time into Friday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Throughout the night, Associated Press journalists in Kyiv heard the constant buzzing of drones overhead and the sound of explosions and intense machine gun fire as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept the aerial assault.
Kyiv was the primary target of the attack, with at least 23 people injured and 14 hospitalised, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Ukrainian air defences shot down 270 targets, including two cruise missiles. Another 208 targets were lost from radar and presumed jammed.
Russia successfully hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones.
Debris from intercepted drones fell across at least 33 sites.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was one of the largest yet, and that Russia would not stop without large-scale pressure.
"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," Zelenskyy said on social media, calling the attack "deliberately massive and cynical".
The attack came hours after President Donald Trump held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and made his first public comments on his administration's decision to pause some shipments of weapons to Ukraine.
That decision affects munitions, including Patriot missiles, the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile and shorter-range Stinger missiles.
They are needed to counter incoming missiles and drones, and to bring down Russian aircraft.
It has been less than a week since Russia's previous largest aerial assault of the war.
Ukraine's air force reported that Russia fired 537 drones, decoys and 60 missiles in that attack.
Emergency services reported damage in at least five of the capital's 10 districts.
In the Solomianskyi district, a five-storey residential building was partially destroyed and the roof of a seven-storey building caught fire.
Fires also broke out at a warehouse, a garage complex and an auto repair facility.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, a strike hit a 14-storey residential building, sparking a fire.
Several vehicles also caught fire nearby. Blazes were also reported at non-residential facilities.
In the Shevchenkivskyi district, an eight-storey building came under attack, with the first floor sustaining damage.
Falling debris was recorded in Darnytskyi and Holosiivskyi districts.
Ukraine's national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said drone strikes damaged rail infrastructure in Kyiv.
AP
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