KYIV: At least nine people were injured on Sunday as Russia launched one of its largest combined drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital and surrounding region since the full-scale war began.
Air raid sirens blared across Kyiv through the night, forcing many residents to shelter deep underground in metro stations as explosions echoed above. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia had fired “hundreds of drones and missiles,” destroying residential buildings and causing civilian casualties.
“We must maximise the cost of further escalation for Russia,” Sybiha wrote on X, calling for stronger international measures.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the capital was under a “massive” assault and urged residents to remain in shelters. He said at least five people in Kyiv had been hospitalised.
An independent monitoring group described the strike as “one of the heaviest” assaults on Kyiv and its surroundings since the war began, while the Kyiv Post reported that the total number of aerial targets was still being assessed.
In the southeastern Zaporizhia region, Russian strikes wounded at least four more people, according to local officials. “Once again, residential buildings and infrastructure are being hit. Once again, it is a war against civilians,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office.
Poland on Alert
The scale of the attack sent ripples beyond Ukraine’s borders. Poland temporarily closed airspace near two southeastern cities, while its armed forces scrambled fighter jets and put ground-based air defence systems on high alert. Warsaw stressed the moves were preventive and designed to secure Polish skies in case of spillover.
Despite Ukraine’s air defences intercepting many of the incoming threats, officials warned the intensity of Russia’s overnight assault showed Moscow’s determination to escalate the conflict further.