Russia unleashed a third straight day of massive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, including strikes that demolished a Kyiv apartment building in the Darnytsia neighborhood where emergency workers searched for victims under collapsed concrete. The attack killed nine people and injured dozens more, authorities said, as well as prompting officials to declare a mourning day for the victims.
Kyiv’s military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said nine people died, including a 12-year-old girl, and that about 20 people were believed to be missing. Mayor Vitali Klitschko declared Friday a day of mourning. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said more than 30 people were injured in the collapse and emergency workers rescued 28 residents.
In the hours after the strike, residents described hearing explosions and rockets before the apartment building shook violently. Lyudmila Hlushko, 78, told The Associated Press that she heard explosions and the sound of rockets around 3 a.m. before windows shattered throughout the neighborhood. Nadiia Lobanova said, “It was a terrible night,” adding that while residents were used to such attacks, “it’s impossible to get used to this.”
Zelenskyy said Russia fired ballistic and cruise missiles as well as more than 1,560 drones at Ukrainian population centers since Wednesday, damaging some 180 sites across the country and hitting more than 50 residential buildings. Ukraine said the interception rate of drones and missiles was over 93%, despite what air force officials described as severe pressure on air defenses.
The air force said it shot down or jammed 693 Russian targets overnight, including 41 missiles and 652 drones of various types nationwide. It said 15 missiles and 23 drones scored direct hits across 24 locations, while debris from downed drones fell in another 18 locations. Ukrenergo, the national grid operator, said strikes on energy infrastructure left customers in Kyiv and 11 other regions temporarily without power.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its military targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including air bases and fuel and transport facilities, claiming it hit all its targets. The ministry said weapons used included Kinzhal missiles, which Russia says can fly at 10 times the speed of sound.
Officials said the Kyiv office of the defense contractor Skyeton, which specializes in reconnaissance drones, was destroyed in the overnight attack, although the company said it had anticipated such an outcome and relocated its production. Ukrainian officials also said Russian drones struck a vehicle carrying U.N. staff delivering aid to residents of Kherson in southern Ukraine; Andrii Sybiha said the vehicle was marked, attacked twice in two different locations, and that no one was hurt.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks came during a period when diplomacy and messaging around potential ceasefire arrangements had been in focus. They said the assault coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trip to China, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping “have sufficient leverage” to compel Vladimir Putin to end the four-year-old invasion.
Sybiha said Trump and Xi were meeting as the world hoped for peace, while Putin launched hundreds of drones, ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital. He also said, “Only pressure on Moscow can make him stop,” in a statement published on X.
The AP article also said Russian attacks in the week were the biggest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, following a May 9-11 ceasefire that Trump said he asked Zelenskyy and Putin to heed. Ukrainian officials said fighting continued over those 72 hours, although they described it as reportedly at a reduced intensity. Zelenskyy said a previous daytime attack on Kyiv on Wednesday killed at least six people and involved 800 drones.
In other developments Thursday, Hungarian authorities summoned Russia’s ambassador over a drone attack near Hungary’s border with Ukraine, and Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina resigned after her government’s coalition partner withdrew support.