Zelenskyy calls for stronger sanctions and reconstruction support as Kyiv reels from a massive barrage. Image: ABC News.
(The Post News)– The capital city of Ukraine, Kyiv, was rocked overnight by one of the largest Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion of 2022. The lethal attack resulted in the deaths of at least two civilians, wounded over a dozen other civilians, and set large parts of the city on fire and damaged.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 400 drones and 18 missiles, both ballistic and cruise missiles, in a coordinated aerial bombardment of Ukraine. Kyiv’s air defense systems shot down 382 of them—a staggering achievement, but not enough to prevent all casualties and damage.
Shrill booms and the whine of so-called “moped” drones echoed in Kyiv for hours. Citizens hid underground, in metro tunnels and basements, as blazes broke out in a number of districts because of falling debris.
Blazes were reported in the Solomyansky, Shevchenkivsky, and Darnytsky districts, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, and a health clinic came close to burning down. The death involved 22-year-old police officer Maria Dziumaha, and over 13 others were taken to the hospital.
There was whistling, banging, and humming. Windows shattered,” 68-year-old Tetyana told CNN in an interview. “My hands are shaking. Another such episode involved a family apartment destroyed, with one man critically injured. “Everything there is burnt down,” said Nadiya Voitsehivkya, whose brother-in-law was trapped under debris.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the assault and called on Ukraine’s allies to place tougher sanctions on Russia. He tweeted, “Sanctions need to be imposed more rapidly. Pressure against Russia should be so substantial that they actually feel the impact of their terror.”
Zelenskyy is in Rome for a conference on the recovery of Ukraine, where he will call for urgent aid, new air defense systems, and a “Marshall Plan-style reconstruction” of destroyed zones. He also called for Russian assets frozen as part of sanctions to be seized and used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine: “Not just the income from the assets but the assets themselves must be used to preserve human life.”
As diplomatic tensions escalate, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during Kuala Lumpur’s ASEAN summit.
President Donald Trump, who was re-elected on a pledge to end the war, has toughened his stance after temporarily suspending and then renewing weapons sales to Ukraine. He has recently scorned Vladimir Putin, calling his peacemaking language “meaningless,” and promised 500% tariffs for countries buying Russian oil and gas.
While Russia’s defense ministry claimed that it was shelling Ukraine’s military-industrial complexes and airports, Ukrainian authorities reported civilian homes, clinics, warehouses, and civilian vehicles came under a heavy bombardment.
In eastern Ukraine, there was another Russian air raid on the town of Kostiantynivka that killed three and wounded one, taking the two-day toll of deaths. The nighttime raid happened a day after Russia launched 728 drones and 13 missiles in the biggest drone attack since 2022, according to Ukraine. Experts say the sheer volume and intensity of the Russian air raids are putting tremendous pressure on Ukraine’s air defense and eroding civilian morale.
“Huge missile and drone attacks are Russia’s new strategy to scare and grind us down,” said a Ukrainian defense official.
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