KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — A fresh wave of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight killed at least 10 civilians and injured dozens more, with the brunt of the damage and casualties reported in Kyiv, where a section of a residential building collapsed following a direct missile hit.
Ukrainian officials said the Kremlin launched a combined aerial assault involving 352 drones, 11 ballistic missiles, and five cruise missiles. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the majority—339 drones and 15 missiles—were intercepted, but enough penetrated to cause widespread destruction and loss of life.
Among the worst-hit areas was Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, where six people were confirmed dead. The blast reduced part of a five-story apartment block to rubble and left dozens of others wounded, including a pregnant woman rescued from a damaged high-rise. Mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as one of the deadliest attacks on the capital in recent weeks.
Rescue workers continued to dig through debris into Monday afternoon in search of survivors, with shattered cars and scorched debris littering the scene. Emergency officials said more than 30 people were injured in the capital alone.
The assault marked a grim echo of last week’s Russian strike, which killed 28 people, including 23 residents of a Kyiv apartment tower. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the renewed bombardment, saying it demonstrated Moscow’s intent to terrorize civilian populations and destroy morale.
“Russia continues its war against civilians with impunity,” Zelenskyy said, linking the latest barrage to Moscow’s use of foreign-supplied weaponry.
Preliminary Ukrainian assessments suggest that North Korean-made missiles were used in the attack. Zelenskyy denounced the growing alliance between Russia, North Korea, and Iran—the latter of which continues to supply Shahed drones for Russian use—as a “coalition of murderers.”
International leaders reacted with outrage. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called the strikes evidence of Moscow’s “unlimited cruelty” and vowed further European sanctions. Zelenskyy, meanwhile, traveled to London for talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with the war and future NATO support expected to dominate the agenda ahead of this week’s NATO summit in The Hague.
In Kyiv, shell-shocked residents described scenes of terror as missiles tore through neighborhoods. Oleksii Pozychaniuk, who lives in a neighboring building, recalled hearing the rocket’s approach: “We barely made it downstairs with my child. Everything was on fire, and the smoke made it impossible to see the neighboring building.”
Emergency personnel worked through the wreckage of collapsed buildings and destroyed vehicles, while dozens of volunteers helped clear glass and debris. Subway entrances, long used as shelters during Russian air raids, were also damaged, including Sviatoshyn station, where two people were lightly wounded.
The Russian onslaught extended beyond the capital. In the Chernihiv region, a short-range drone strike killed two civilians and injured 10, including three children. In Bila Tserkva, located 85 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, one person died and eight were wounded in a separate strike.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it had shot down 23 Ukrainian drones overnight in what appeared to be a retaliatory exchange amid the intensifying air war.
Though Russia has escalated its military campaign along Ukraine’s 620-mile front line, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say its gains remain marginal. The latest strikes, they said, reflect Russia’s growing reliance on long-range missile and drone attacks to compensate for faltering ground operations.
“These attacks are about wearing down civilian morale, not battlefield success,” the institute said.
The use of Iranian and North Korean weaponry in Ukraine signals a deepening reliance by Moscow on its authoritarian allies. Western leaders are growing increasingly alarmed at the implications of these partnerships, with concerns that the Tehran-Pyongyang-Moscow axis could broaden the conflict’s reach.
For the people of Ukraine, however, the consequences remain immediate and devastating. In Kyiv and beyond, families are once again counting the cost of Russia’s escalating war of attrition, with no clear end in sight.
