At least 15 killed and dozens injured in Russian strike on Kyiv

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, officials say.

The attack overnight into Tuesday was one of the largest bombardments on Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said a total of 440 drones and 32 missiles had been launched at the country.

Meanwhile, Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones overnight, Moscow’s defence ministry said.

The strikes on Kyiv lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise.

Officials said a ballistic missile hit a nine-storey apartment building in one district, with a total of 27 districts of the city coming under fire.

A 62-year-old US citizen was among those killed, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

“Waking up in utter nightmare: people trapped under rubble and full buildings collapsed,” Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko wrote on X.

Klymenko said rescue teams were still working to free people.

Loud explosions rocked the city, along with the rattle of the machine guns used by mobile Ukrainian air defence units to shoot down drones.

More sirens later in the morning disrupted rescue operations in the city, hampering emergency workers searching the rubble for survivors.

Russia has intensified its air attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, with a tactic of sending large waves of drones and decoys designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.

Kyiv has launched attacks of its own, as direct talks between the warring sides failed to secure a ceasefire or significant breakthrough.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s most recent wave of strikes “pure terrorism”.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of carrying out the large scale strikes “solely because he can afford to continue this war”.

“It is bad when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to this,” he said, adding: “It is the terrorists who should feel the pain, not normal, peaceful people.”

Drone strikes also hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, killing one person and injuring at least 10 others, Klymenko said.

Zelenksy had been hoping to speak with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday but Trump cut short his stay amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East.

The news will come as a blow to Zelensky and his administration, which had been hoping to secure US support at the conference for Ukraine’s strategic and military goals.

Nevertheless, the UK and its allies are expected to announce additional sanctions on Russia on Tuesday in continued efforts to sustain pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.