Russian ballistic missiles rained down on Kyiv in the early morning hours of Sunday, triggering fires and leaving at least three civilians injured, while strikes elsewhere in Ukraine claimed at least two more lives, according to local officials.
The attacks come as Ukraine’s drone campaign has been gaining momentum, slowing Russian military advances in an expanded operation inside Russian territory that has created fuel shortages and put increasing pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, authorities installed by the Kremlin reported that a Ukrainian drone attack killed four civilians in the city of Horlivka. Ivan Prikhodko, the Russian-appointed mayor of the city, stated that Horlivka had been under attack since the early morning hours of Sunday.
Russia’s defense ministry reported that its forces shot down 133 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russia, the Black Sea, and Crimea — the peninsula Moscow forcibly seized from Ukraine back in 2014.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko described how explosions shook the capital in the predawn hours, with falling debris from intercepted missiles sparking a fire in a high-rise building near the city’s historic center. He added that debris also ignited fires in other buildings, vehicles, and parking structures throughout the capital. Of the three people injured, one required hospitalization.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned in his Friday evening address that intelligence reports suggested Russia was preparing for a large-scale missile attack, noting that signs pointed to it happening within the following 48 hours.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed Sunday that its strike on Kyiv targeted facilities connected to drone manufacturing.
Also on Sunday, a drone attack on Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second-largest city, located in the east — took one life and left at least six others wounded, including two children, according to mayor Igor Terekhov.
In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian glide bomb killed one man and injured at least six others, mayor Ivan Fedorov reported. Both Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia have been repeatedly targeted by Russian forces, with Zaporizhzhia — situated just over 20 kilometers, or roughly 12.5 miles, from the front line — enduring intense bombardment in recent months.
Just two days earlier on Friday, a major Russian strike near Kyiv killed at least 10 people and wounded approximately 100 others. The back-and-forth nature of these attacks continues to reduce the likelihood of any diplomatic solution to Russia’s invasion, which has now stretched beyond four years.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb offered a more optimistic assessment on Sunday, stating that “Ukraine’s position is stronger than ever since the war began.” After speaking by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Stubb posted on X — appearing to reference Ukraine’s recent drone campaign targeting major Russian energy infrastructure — that “continued support from (Ukraine’s) partners is critical to keep up the momentum.”
