KYIV, Ukraine — Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, launching its highest number of drones and missiles in a single night since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian officials reported.
At least 14 people, including three children, were killed, and dozens more were injured in the widespread assault that occurred overnight into Sunday.
This attack followed one of the heaviest assaults on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the preceding day. International calls for a ceasefire have been consistently ignored by Russia.
“Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this cruelty cannot be stopped,” stated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. He further added,
“America’s silence will only encourage Putin,” in an apparent appeal to exert pressure on President Donald Trump, who has indicated that the Russian leader is interested in ending the war.
Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, the southern peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Rescuers were deployed in over 30 cities and villages following the “massive” overnight strike, Zelensky announced in a statement on Sunday morning.
“Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day,” he said. “The world may go on for a weekend, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored.” He emphasized that Saturday night saw the highest number of drones and missiles launched by Russia thus far.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that since 20:40 local time on Saturday (17:40 GMT), Russia had launched 367 missiles of various types, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and drones.
The air force claimed to have shot down 45 cruise missiles and destroyed 266 UAVs, with the majority of Ukraine’s regions affected and strikes recorded in 22 locations.
Fatalities were reported in multiple regions across the country.
Russia’s defence ministry stated that its forces had inflicted damage on targets including military airfields, ammunition depots, and electronic warfare stations, claiming damage across 142 areas.
According to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, 13 regions were attacked, resulting in injuries to over 70 people, damage to 80 residential buildings, and 27 recorded fires. He described the assault as a “combined, ruthless strike aimed at civilians.”
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) reported that of the 12 people killed, three were children aged eight, 12, and 17 in the Zhytomyr region. Klymenko noted that these children were from the same family, and their parents were hospitalized.
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional office, stated that two women, aged 85 and 56, were killed after a house in Kupiansk was struck. In the Kyiv region, the DSNS reported four deaths and 16 injuries, including three children.
Local officials in Kyiv reported 11 injuries, multiple fires, and damage to residential buildings, including a dormitory.
Hundreds of residents sought shelter in the city’s deep metro stations as the sound of drones filled the air, punctuated by air defense explosions and impacts. Several fires were reported across the capital.
A journalist reported that a block of flats near her residence had been destroyed. The strikes coincided with Kyiv’s annual Kyiv Day holiday.
In Russia, the defence ministry claimed that 110 Ukrainian drones were destroyed and intercepted over 12 Russian regions and the Crimea peninsula between midnight and 07:00 local time.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 12 drones heading towards the capital were shot down, adding that emergency services were assessing damage from falling debris.
In the Tula region, south of Moscow, local governor Dmitriy Milyaev reported that drone wreckage crashed in the courtyard of a residential building, breaking windows in several apartments, though no injuries were reported.
Sunday also marks the final day of a significant prisoner of war exchange between the two sides.
Following this weekend, hopes for further cooperation appear diminished. On Friday, Ukraine and Russia each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the largest prisoner exchange since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On Saturday, Zelensky announced the return of another 307 Ukrainian prisoners as part of an exchange deal.
On Sunday, both sides confirmed the return of 303 of their soldiers, bringing the total exchange over the three days to 1,000 prisoners each.
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This swap follows the first face-to-face talks between the two sides in three years, which took place in Turkey.
Earlier in the week, Trump and Putin held a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed Ukraine ceasefire deal.
Trump described the call as “very well” and suggested that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start” negotiations toward a ceasefire and “an end to the war.”
However, Putin has only indicated Russia’s willingness to work with Ukraine on a “memorandum” regarding a “possible future peace” and has not agreed to a 30-day ceasefire.
