Massive Russian Attack against Ukraine

Kyiv, Ukraine – A massive attack of Russian unmanned aircraft and missiles against the capital of Ukraine on early Thursday, including a rare strike in the city center, killed at least 12 people and wounded about 48, local authorities said.

It was the first great Russian combined attack against Kyiv in weeks Peace efforts led by the United States Finally The three -year war He fought to win traction.

Russia launched 598 drones and strikes and 31 missiles of different types throughout the country, according to the Ukraine Air Force, which makes it one of the largest air attacks in the war. Ukraine forces demolished and neutralized all but 41 of them, said their Air Force.

Among the dead were two children, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, citing preliminary information. The numbers were expected to increase. The rescue teams were on the site to get trapped under the rubble.

“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an X post after the attack. “We expect a response from all in the world that have requested peace, but now more frequently remains silent instead of taking positions of principles.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it demolished 102 Ukrainian drones during the night, mainly in the southwest of the country. A drone attack caused a fire in the AFIPSKY Petroleum Refinery in the Krasnodar region, local officials said, while a second fire was reported in the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly hit refineries and other oil infrastructures in recent weeks in an attempt to weaken the Russian war economy, which makes service stations in some Russian regions dry and prices are increasing.

Moscow denies attacking civilians, but strikes have increased in recent months in cities and towns far from the first line of war.

Russia launched Drones Lego, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the administration of the city of kyiv. At least 20 locations in seven Kyiv districts were affected. Almost 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping center, and thousands of windows broke, he said.

The Russian strikes reached the central part of kyiv, one of the few times the Russian attacks have reached the heart of the city since the beginning of the large -scale invasion. Residents cleared glasses and debris shattered from damaged buildings.

The smoke separated from the crumbled column from a five -story residential building in the Darnytskyi district that suffered a direct blow. A burning material floated in the air while firefighters worked to contain the fire.

Amid the destruction, emergency responders sought survivors and extracted bodies. The multitudes of residents were close, waiting for family members to be recovered from the debris. Bodies were placed in black bags at the side of the building.

The residents of the neighborhood said it was not the first time that their district was attacked.

Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard shouts of trapped under the rubble and took three survivors, including a child.

“It is inhuman and surprising civilians,” he said, his dust -covered clothes and the tips of his black fingers with soot. “With every cell of my body, I want this war to end as soon as possible. I hope, but every time the alarm of air attacks sounds, I fear.”

The National Railway Operator of Ukraine, UCRZALIZNYTSIA, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and kyiv regions, which causes delays and forced trains to use alternative routes.

The operator of the National Electric Red of Ukraine said that the facilities damaged by Russia’s attack in several regions, which caused local energy cuts, the Reuters news agency reported. An attack on critical infrastructure in the Vinnytsia region reduced power to tens of thousands of clients, regional officials said.

Thursday’s attack is the first great missile attack combined with Russian drones to hit kyiv from the president Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska Earlier this month, to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine.

While a diplomatic impulse for peace seemed to gain impulse shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged on the next steps.

Western leaders have accused Putin of dragging their feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations, while Russian troops move more deeply in Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders admitted that Russian forces have entered an eighth region of Ukraine that seeks to capture more land.

Zelenskyy expects harder sanctions in the United States to paralyze the Russian economy if Putin does not show seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands after Thursday’s attack.

“All deadlines have already broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy were ruined,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump bristled this week in Putin’s stagnation in an American proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy. He said Friday that he hopes to decide on the next steps in two weeks if the direct conversations are not scheduled.

• Ukraine
• Donald Trump
• Russia
• Vladimir Putin
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy