Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the surrounding region with scores of missiles and drones in a nighttime aerial attack that lasted for hours and killed at least 16 people, officials said on Thursday (August 20, 2026).
Explosions boomed across the city in the dark. Emergency crews were at the scene and pulled people out from under the rubble. “A rocket hit the roof. It was incredibly loud. Immediately, debris and doors were blown out. “Two people were killed in our building, but the rescuers responded quickly and professionally. I am grateful to them for that. People were also trapped in two residential buildings and a school shelter.
Kyiv was the primary target, but hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country, according to the air force. Emergency services said 15 people were killed in the capital, with another fatality in the wider Kyiv region. About 40 people were wounded, Mr. Russia’s overnight strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. In Solomianskyi district, the top two floors of a 9-story residential building were destroyed and fires broke out on other floors.
Zelenskyy said, as air raid warnings remained in place until after dawn. Romania’s Defence Ministry said that an unidentified drone crashed and caught fire in an uninhabited area near the border with Ukraine. There were columns of smoke, columns of fire, screams, crying and despair,” she said.
