Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv, killing at least 13 people in 2026's second-deadliest strike

Russia has launched hundreds of drones and tens of missiles overnight at Kyiv, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 50.

Four hundred and ninety-six drones and 74 missiles were fired in what Moscow said was retaliation for recent attacks on its civil infrastructure. 

The Ukrainian air force said on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 48 missiles and 476 drones; however, 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones hit 33 locations.

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'Cynical' attack

Several explosions shook buildings and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents hid in bomb shelters and underground metro stations. It was the second-deadliest Russian attack on Kyiv so far this year. 

"This night, Russia once again carried out a cynical, large-scale attack on Ukraine," Ukraine's prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram. "The enemy launched dozens of ballistic missiles. Kyiv was hit hardest."

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky cut short a visit to Dublin and warned Ukrainians about an upcoming strike. 

The Russian defence ministry said in a Telegram post that its "massive attack" using long-range, high-precision air-, land-, and sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports in Kyiv and other locations. 

Moscow neutralised 327 drones overnight, the defence ministry said. 

Ukraine's plea for more air defences 

Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha reiterated Kyiv's urgent plea for Ukraine's allies to supply more air defences, saying that the capital had "suffered a night of horror". 

The strikes led Poland to briefly scramble fighter jets as a preventive measure. Finland also briefly issued a temporary aviation restriction zone in the eastern Gulf of Finland before lifting it later, its defence forces said on X. 

Kyiv has recently been intensifying its own strikes deeper into Russian territory, hitting energy targets. 

In response, the Kremlin has increased its air campaign against Ukrainian cities, exemplified by its targeting of a 1,000-year-old Kyiv cathedral last month. 

Moscow denies intentionally hitting civilians but says attacks on what it describes as civil infrastructure are legitimate because they hurt Ukraine's ability to wage war. Kyiv has also launched attacks on Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine on a far smaller scale.