KYIV
At least 32 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured in Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, in one of the deadliest reported assaults of the conflict, Ukrainian officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attacks as among Russia’s “most heinous attacks” and renewed his call for additional US-made Patriot air defence systems to protect Ukrainian cities and civilians.
The highest number of casualties was reported in Pryluky, in the northern Chernihiv region, where a missile struck a five-storey residential building, killing 22 people, including five children, and injuring approximately 55 others, according to Ukrainian authorities.
In the capital, Kyiv, attacks on residential buildings killed four people, while a drone crash in a suburban area claimed two additional lives.
Zelensky said Russia had launched around 70 missiles, many of them ballistic, alongside dozens of drones. He urged international partners to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capabilities amid continuing Russian attacks.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces had conducted large-scale strikes against military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and other regions. Moscow said the targets included Ukraine’s defence company Fire Point and facilities allegedly involved in manufacturing cruise missiles and drones.
The reported civilian casualties have renewed concerns over the humanitarian consequences of the war and the urgent need to protect residential areas from further attacks.
