Russia intensifies aerial onslaught, with more than 700 munitions launched in one night
Russian forces have unleashed one of their most devastating aerial barrages on Ukraine since Moscow's full-scale invasion four years ago.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 675 attack drones and 56 missiles, primarily targeting Kyiv, killing at least four people and injuring dozens more.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said these included ballistic missiles, aero-ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Defences overwhelmed
Air defence units intercepted 652 drones and 41 missiles, but the sheer volume of the assault overwhelmed defences in several areas, with at least six districts of the capital badly hit.
The most severe damage took place in the Darnytskyi district, where a nine-storey apartment block partially collapsed after being struck.
Rescue teams worked through the night to try to reach those trapped beneath the rubble.
Authorities said three people died – two men aged 21 and 30, and one woman whose identity has not yet been released.
Their bodies were recovered from the building's destroyed entrance.
A fourth victim, a man who had been at a petrol station during the attack, later died in hospital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 44 people were injured, including two children, with 21 requiring hospital treatment.
Eighteen apartments in the damaged building were destroyed, and the attack also disrupted the city's water supply.
Rescue workers out in force
More than 1,500 rescue workers and police officers have been deployed across Ukraine to deal with the aftermath of the strikes, with nearly 600 focused on Kyiv.
President Zelensky said more than 20 locations in Kyiv sustained damage, including a school, a veterinary clinic and other civilian infrastructure.
Away from the capital, Russian drones also targeted other regions of Ukraine including Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Poltava.
In a post on his Telegram channel, Mr Zelensky said that in the southern city of Kherson, Russian drones twice attacked a car carrying a representative of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Personnel from eight other organisations were also in the vehicle, he said, but fortunately no one was injured.
Night onslaught followed day
The overnight airstrikes followed a huge daytime barrage that saw 800 drones launched at 20 Ukrainian regions, one of the longest sustained attacks of the war.
That earlier wave of strikes killed six people and wounded dozens, including children.
In total, Russia has fired more than 1,560 drones at Ukrainian cities since Tuesday night, said Mr Zelensky.
The waves of Russian drone and missile attacks came shortly after the expiration of a US-brokered three-day ceasefire on Monday.
While both sides reported violations during the truce, no large-scale air attacks took place until it ended.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiha condemned the Kremlin for what he called a "barbaric attack".
Superpowers urged to intervene
The strikes took place at the same time as US president Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping met in Beijing for talks.
Mr Sybiha said both superpowers needed to pressure Moscow into negotiating an end to the conflict, which is now in its fifth year and has cost Russia more than 1.2 million casualties.
"I am certain that the leaders of the United States and China have enough leverage over Moscow to tell Putin to finally end the war," Mr Sybiha said.
Vladimir Putin continues to demand that Ukraine fully withdraws from the eastern Donbas region before any substantive peace negotiations can proceed – a condition Kyiv has rejected as capitulation.
Despite the Russian president's recent suggestion that the war may be coming to an end, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it remains too early to discuss specifics.
Meanwhile, president Zelensky said the intense strikes of the past 24 hours were "definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end".
"It is important that our partners do not remain silent about this attack," he added.
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