Kyiv — Russia launched a prolonged missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 32 others, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of undermining peace efforts.
The assault lasted nearly 10 hours, with waves of drones and missiles striking Kyiv and surrounding areas. Ukraine’s Minister for Development Oleksiy Kuleba said damage to energy infrastructure left about 40% of residential buildings in the capital and nearby districts without heating.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said 68 residents were evacuated from a retirement home in the eastern Darnytskyi district as a precaution. Images from the city showed apartment buildings with gaping holes, scorched facades and fires burning in residential areas.
Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said Russia had launched almost 500 drones and 40 missiles, targeting both energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. He said the attack showed that Moscow was not serious about ending the war.
“Russian representatives are having long conversations, but in reality the Daggers and Shaheds are speaking for them,” Zelensky wrote, referring to Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. He added that President Vladimir Putin did not want peace and urged Ukraine’s allies to respond with “really strong steps.”
“This sick activity can only be responded to with strength,” he said, calling on the United States, Europe and other partners to act.
Zelensky made the remarks as he travelled to Florida for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. The meeting is expected to focus on a new 20-point peace plan agreed by American and Ukrainian envoys.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it used long-range precision weapons to strike energy facilities it claimed were supporting Ukraine’s armed forces and military-industrial enterprises. The ministry also said Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed nearly 200 Ukrainian drones over several regions, including eight over Moscow.
The scale of the attack prompted heightened alert levels in neighbouring Poland, which shares a 530-kilometre border with Ukraine. Polish authorities said fighter jets and air defence systems were activated, but later confirmed there had been no violation of Polish airspace.
Among the damaged buildings in Kyiv was an apartment block housing BBC journalist Anastasiya Gribanova. She was inside the building’s elevator when it was struck but was not injured.
As emergency crews continued rescue and repair efforts across the city, the overnight barrage cast a shadow over renewed diplomatic efforts, underscoring the fragile prospects for peace as the war grinds on.
