Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight, killing at least 15 people and injuring several others, reported Reuters citing Ukrainian officials. The attack conducted on Tuesday was one of the largest strikes on Kyiv since the war commenced three years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that the Russian forces sent over 440 drones and 32 missiles into Ukraine, describing the situation as “most horrific” in the capital. "Such attacks are pure terrorism. The whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists. Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war,” he said.
According to officials, around 27 locations were hit during the night damaging residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure. The attack was carried out for nine hours. Officials have said that a ballistic missile hit a nine-story building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said that “as of now, 44 people have been injured in Kyiv.” The minister also confirmed that six others have been injured in Odesa and another in Chernihiv.
Russia's Defence Ministry also claimed that it had intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.
The attack on Kyiv occurred while Zelenskyy was in Canada to attend the G7 Summit and garner support for a ceasefire. He was also expected to meet US president Donald Trump but Trump left the summit a day early due to tensions in the middle east.
During the summit, Trump asserted that removing Russia from the summit was a “big mistake.” He said that “Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else. He is not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn’t even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him,” according to Reuters.
