KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces launched a coordinated barrage of drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 11 civilians and emergency workers, Ukrainian officials said.
The attacks struck Kyiv, Kharkiv and other locations, damaging residential buildings, infrastructure and a historic religious site, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and local authorities. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted many of the incoming projectiles, but strikes caused fires and power outages affecting thousands of households.
Zelenskyy said the strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency workers and wounded 53 people across Ukraine. Children were among those injured in Kyiv, officials reported. Emergency services recovered bodies from rubble in affected areas, including residential buildings.
The overnight assault involved hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, Ukrainian authorities said. It set fire to the Dormition Cathedral within the UNESCO-listed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, a major cultural and religious landmark. Firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
Ukrainian officials described the barrage as one of the larger recent attacks, with debris and strikes hitting civilian areas. Power was knocked out to around 140,000 households in some regions. In Kyiv, damage was reported to residential structures, a medical clinic and other sites.
Russia's Defense Ministry has not immediately commented on the specific incident in detail. Moscow has previously described its strikes as targeting military objectives and has accused Ukraine of using civilian areas as shields, claims that Kyiv rejects.
The attacks come amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, now in its fourth year. Both sides have intensified long-range strikes in recent months, with Russia launching large-scale aerial assaults and Ukraine conducting cross-border operations.
Rescue operations continued into the following day as crews searched for survivors and cleared debris. Details on the full extent of damage and any additional casualties remained unclear as assessments were ongoing.
Zelenskyy condemned the strikes in public statements, calling for continued international support for Ukraine's air defenses. "These are deliberate attacks on civilian life and our heritage," he said, according to reports of his remarks.
Ukrainian energy officials reported efforts to restore power supplies, while local administrations in affected cities urged residents to follow air raid alerts. No independent verification of all casualty figures was immediately available beyond Ukrainian government sources.
As of Tuesday, emergency response teams were still working at multiple sites. The incident adds to the growing civilian toll from aerial warfare in the conflict.
