Russia launched an overnight barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing and wounding multiple people and causing widespread damage. A ballistic missile struck a five-story residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing at least 10 people — including two children — and injuring 16. Rescuers searched the rubble for survivors and said several people were believed to remain trapped.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used 29 missiles, nearly half of them ballistic, and about 480 drones in the assault, most of the drones reportedly Iranian-designed Shaheds. He called on international partners for a response and continued support to counter what he described as attempts to destroy Ukraine’s residential and critical infrastructure.
Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov said the wounded included boys aged six and 11 and a 17-year-old girl. Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov confirmed two children were among the dead and said seven residential apartment blocks, commercial and administrative buildings, electricity distribution lines and vehicles were damaged in the city.
Zelenskyy also said Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions, and struck a railway in Zhytomyr region. An air raid alert covered Ukraine overnight; as a precaution, Poland scrambled military aircraft to protect border airspace.
Preliminary figures from Ukrainian authorities indicated air defenses shot down 19 missiles and 453 drones. Damage was reported across several regions, including Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy and Cherkasy, and emergency services were responding where needed.
In the east, one person was killed in Dnipropetrovsk region, while three people were wounded in Kyiv. A 24-year-old man died in his car in Sumy region after a drone strike. Injuries were also reported in drone attacks in Zaporizhzhia and in the town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region. Rail infrastructure was damaged in the attacks, forcing route changes across the center-west, Ukraine’s state rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.
Peace negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine remain stalled amid a separate Middle East conflict that escalated last week following US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar