Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities overnight on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 70.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat, Kyiv forces intercepted 368 out of 407 drones and shot down 36 out of 45 missiles, including four out of six ballistic Iskander missiles launched by Russia.
Ukraine’s Air Forces activated the air raid alerts in all Ukrainian regions last night, warning people that multiple Russian bombers had taken off for the attack. Many people proceeded to bomb shelters with the warning.
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit the hardest. The city Mayor Vitali Klitschko said search and rescue operations were under way at several locations.
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv overnight, where falling debris sparked fires across several districts as air defence systems attempted to intercept incoming targets, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.
“Our air defence crews are doing everything possible. But we must protect one another — stay safe,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
Authorities reported damage in several districts, and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations. They urged residents to seek shelter.
In Solomyanskyi district, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16-story residential building. Emergency services evacuated three people from the apartment, and rescue operations were ongoing. Another fire broke out in a metal warehouse.
Tkachenko said the metro tracks between two stations in Kyiv were damaged in the attack, but no fire or injuries occurred.
In the northern Chernihiv region, a Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building, shattering windows and doors, according to regional military administration chief Dmytro Bryzhynskyi. He added that explosions from ballistic missiles were also recorded on the outskirts of the city.
The nighttime attack came hours after US President Donald Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace, in comments that were a remarkable detour from Trump’s often-stated appeals to stop the three-year war.
Trump spoke as he met with Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who appealed to him as the “key person in the world” who could halt the bloodshed by pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump this week spoke on the phone with Putin, who vowed to respond "very strongly" to Ukraine’s daring drone attacks on Russian military airfields that had taken place on Sunday.
