Russia launched one of its largest overnight attacks on Kyiv, on Saturday night, firing more than 40 missiles and around 120 drones at Ukraine, killing one person and injuring at least 16 others.
Event Context
Team Analysis
The attack, which began around 1.30 am and lasted for several hours, triggered explosions across the Ukrainian capital as air defence systems attempted to intercept the barrage, news agency AP reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said most of the missiles were aimed at Kyiv.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched over missiles and 120 drones across the country overnight. Zelensky described it as one of the largest ballistic missile attacks on the capital and said nearly 600 emergency responders had been deployed to rescue and relief operations at multiple sites.
The latest strike again underscored Ukraine’s demand for more Patriot air defence systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. US President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriot systems, though details and a timeline for the proposal remain unclear.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted facilities linked to Ukraine’s military, including plants producing Flamingo drones and components for Neptune guided missiles, as well as a postal terminal allegedly used to store dual-use goods and assemble drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment.
Separately, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said oil loading operations at its terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast were suspended after two oil tankers came under attack.
The company said the strike caused a fire aboard the tanker ASIA, which was later extinguished. The second vessel, NISSOS, was also damaged. CPC did not identify who carried out the attack but said there were no casualties or oil spills, and both tankers remained afloat.
The incident comes as Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks on targets in the Black and Azov seas. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure, arguing that it finances Moscow’s war effort through export revenues.
The CPC pipeline, stretching about 1,510 kilometres (940 miles), transports crude oil from Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea fields to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, accounting for roughly 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude exports.
(With inputs from AP)
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The strikes sparked fires in at least five districts of Kyiv, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial facilities, a dormitory and several vehicles, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
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Images from the city showed charred cars, shattered buildings and emergency crews working through the debris.
Rescuers pulled four people from a burning house in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, while firefighters evacuated residents from a three-storey building engulfed in flames in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where one person was found dead. Emergency crews also responded to fires in the Solomyanskyi, Desnianskyi and Dnipro districts.
