Russian drone, missile attack on Kyiv kills at least 14, injures 38

A Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Thursday killed at least 14 people, and injured a minimum of 38 more.

The attack included a rare strike in the center of the city, CBS News reported. This was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks, since President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

"As of now, already 14 people are known to have been killed as a result of the Russian attack, including 3 children," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X on Thursday. "A horrific and deliberate killing of civilians. The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes. Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were damaged: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located."

"It is crucial now that the world responds firmly. Russia must stop this war it started and continues. For the spurning of ceasefire and for the constant Russian attempts to weasel out of negotiations, new strong sanctions are needed," he went on. "Only this can work. The Russians understand only strength and pressure. For every strike, Moscow must feel the consequences."

Zelensky reposted European Union Council President António Costa's post on the attack, including a strike that hit the EU Delegation to Ukraine's building.

"Horrified by yet another night of deadly Russian missile attacks on Ukraine," Costa posted on X.

"My thoughts are with the Ukrainian victims and also with the staff of @EUDelegationUA, whose building was damaged in this deliberate Russian strike. The EU will not be intimidated. Russia’s aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people."

According to officials, at least 38 people were injured in the attack.

Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles across Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, making it one of the largest attacks since Moscow started the war in February 2022. All but 41 of the weapons were shot down and neutralized, Ukraine's Air Force said.

Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city administration, said that the attack included drones, decoy drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, hitting at least 20 locations across seven districts of the capital.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the British Council building was damaged in the attack.

"My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building," Starmer posted on X. "Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end."

Russia denies targeting civilians but, in the last few months, it has increased strikes on cities and towns far from the front lines.

Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that its forces had launched a strike overnight "against military-industrial complex enterprises and military airbases in Ukraine." It also said that it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in the Russian southwest.

A drone attack sparked a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, according to local officials, while a second blaze was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks to try to weaken Russia's war economy, causing gas stations in some regions to run dry and prices to spike.