President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has condemned the latest Russian aerial assault as “vile and inhumane,” after an unprecedented bombardment of drones and missiles slammed into the country for over 12 consecutive hours, leaving a trail of civilian casualties and destruction across multiple regions.
The attack, described by Ukrainian officials as one of the largest and most intense strikes since the start of the full-scale invasion, saw nearly 500 Iranian-made strike drones and more than 40 missiles, including Kinzhal hypersonic weapons, target cities from the capital to the Black Sea coast.
Civilian Carnage in Kyiv
The capital, Kyiv, bore the heaviest burden of the overnight assault, with officials confirming at least four civilian fatalities, including a 12-year-old girl. The violence extended into daybreak, forcing residents across the city to take cover in metro stations as air raid sirens blared incessantly.
“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, wrote on Telegram, noting that the strikes deliberately targeted civilian areas, damaging multi-storey apartment buildings, private homes, and a local bread-production facility. The blast damage was also reported at the Institute of Cardiology, a grim testament to Moscow’s disregard for non-military infrastructure.
Across the country, at least 40 people, including children, were reported injured, with blasts and wreckage confirmed in Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa regions.
A Statement at the UNGA’s Close
In a furious post on social media, President Zelensky linked the timing of the massive bombardment directly to international diplomacy, calling it Russia’s true declaration to the world.
“This vile attack came virtually as the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position,” Zelensky wrote. “Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves only the harshest pressure from the world.”
He accused the Kremlin of using the attacks as a calculated campaign of “deliberate and targeted terror against ordinary cities” designed to sow fear and compel Ukraine towards disadvantageous peace talks.
The President’s message was a stark appeal to international allies, urging them to sever Russia’s financial lifelines. “The Kremlin benefits from continuing this war and terror as long as it earns revenue from energy and operates a shadow fleet,” he stated. “We will continue to strike back to deprive Russia of those revenue streams and to compel it toward diplomacy.”
The magnitude of the aerial assault has triggered a ripple effect across Europe. Neighboring Poland scrambled its air force and allied jets in a preventative measure as the Russian missiles and drones approached the Ukrainian border, highlighting the ever-present risk of regional escalation posed by the indiscriminate strikes.
As emergency services work through the rubble to assess the full toll of the 12-hour blitz, the message from Kyiv is clear: Russia has responded to a week of global diplomacy with its most savage act of terror yet, daring the international community to meet the violence with decisive, punitive action.