KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, including a rare strike in the center of the city, early Thursday killed at least 14 people and wounded 48, local authorities said.
It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, making it one of the war’s biggest air attacks.
Among the dead were three children ages 2, 14 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv´s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”
Russia´s Ministry of Defense said Thursday it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in the country´s southwest. A drone attack sparked a blaze at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, local officials said, while a second fire was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia’s war economy, causing gas stations in some Russian regions to run dry and prices to spike.
Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tkachenko.
At least 20 locations across seven districts of Kyiv had impacts. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center, and thousands of windows were shattered, he said.
Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 563 drones and decoys and 26 missiles across the country, its Air Force said.
Russian strikes hit the central part of Kyiv, one of the few times Russian attacks have reached the heart of the Ukrainian capital since the start of the full-scale invasion. Residents cleared shattered glass and debris from damaged buildings.
Sophia Akylina said her home was damaged.
“It´s never happened before that they attacked so close,” the 21-year old said. “Negotiations haven’t yielded anything yet, unfortunately people are suffering.”
Smoke billowed from the crumbled column of a five-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district, which suffered a direct hit. An acrid stench of burning material wafted in the air as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Emergency responders searched for survivors and pulled bodies from the destruction. Crowds of residents stood nearby waiting for relatives to retrieved from the rubble, including a man who was waiting for information about his wife and son. Bodies in black bags were placed to the side of the building.
At least 10 people were known to be missing by the afternoon, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.
It was not the first time the district was targeted, neighborhood residents said.
Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.
“It´s inhuman, striking civilians,” he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.”
Ukraine´s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and requiring trains to use alternative routes.
Thursday’s attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since U.S. President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
While a diplomatic push to end the war appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged about the next steps.
Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more ground.
Zelenskyy hopes for harsher U.S. sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Putin does not demonstrate seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands following Thursday’s attack.
“All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump bristled this week at Putin´s stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy. Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren´t scheduled.
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