KYIV — In one of the most intense bombardments in recent weeks, Russia unleashed a “massive” aerial attack on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more as a barrage of missiles and drones struck cities across the country. The onslaught, which included a missile equipped with cluster munitions hitting a residential building, prompted a renewed call from Ukrainian officials for more air defense systems from Western allies.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the attacks took place across nine regions, with major strikes reported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. A missile carrying cluster munitions directly struck a high-rise apartment building in the city of Dnipro, killing at least one person and injuring 26, according to the regional governor. Other casualties included a 62-year-old man killed in a drone attack in northern Ukraine’s Chernihiv region and another person killed in the Khmelnytskyi region, where firefighting crews recovered a body from a damaged residential building.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had detected a total of 619 drones and missiles in the overnight attack, a mix that included cruise and ballistic missiles, along with hundreds of drones. While Ukrainian air defenses claimed to have shot down or neutralized the vast majority of the projectiles, the sheer scale of the assault overwhelmed some defenses, allowing strikes to hit civilian areas and critical infrastructure.
In a social media statement, President Zelensky condemned the strikes, calling them “not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure.” He urged international partners to provide more air defense systems and impose additional sanctions on Russia, arguing that “every restriction on Russia saves lives.” The attacks come as both sides have stepped up their use of long-range aerial assaults, with Ukraine claiming its drones hit several Russian oil refineries and pumping stations on Saturday.
The continued violence highlights a grim reality in a war where the front lines have become increasingly static, forcing both sides to escalate their campaigns to strike at each other’s home fronts and critical infrastructure. While diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire have stalled, the human toll continues to mount with each successive barrage.