Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight at the Ukrainian capital, killing at least 18 people and wounding nearly 100, according to Ukrainian officials. President Zelensky cut short a visit to Ireland and returned to Ukraine, calling on allies for more air defense funding. Kyiv's mayor declared a day of mourning for Friday.
Russia launched a massive overnight combined strike on Kyiv, firing 74 missiles and 496 drones, Ukrainian officials reported. At least 18 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded, making it the deadliest single attack on the capital this year. Kyiv's mayor declared a day of mourning for Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky cut short his visit to Ireland and returned to Ukraine, calling on allies for more air defense funding. The attack is the latest in a series of escalating Russian aerial assaults on Kyiv.
Initial reports of explosions and fires in Kyiv emerged at 02:08 Jerusalem, with the first casualty figures at 2 killed and 16 wounded. By 02:08, the death toll rose to 5, then 9, and later to 13. At 12:45 Jerusalem, the toll reached 17, and by 13:17, The Zioneer reported the 'largest-ever barrage' on Kyiv. The official count now stands at 18 dead and 100 wounded, with Ukrainian air defense intercepting 48 of 74 missiles and 476 of 496 drones, according to the Air Force.
This week's intense bombardment follows a pattern of Russian escalation. As The Zioneer reported on Monday, June 15, Russia launched a similar attack with ~74 missiles and over 600 drones, achieving one of the lowest interception rates in months. In response, as The Zioneer reported earlier today, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in two years, striking oil facilities. Russia's defense ministry claimed the overnight strikes on Kyiv were retaliation for those Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil.
Russia's claim that the strikes targeted military and energy facilities remains unverified, as does Ukraine's assertion that it struck an oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight. The full extent of damage across other cities hit in the overnight attack — Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia — is still emerging.
10 developments
- DevelopingRussia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight
- StrongUkraine launches 'unprecedented' drone attack on Moscow with nearly 200 UAVs, Zelensky says
- StrongRussia pounds Ukraine with ~74 missiles overnight; Kharkiv rescue workers killed in double-tap strike
- DevelopingRussian strikes kill at least 8 in Kharkiv and Kyiv, Asaf Rozentzweig (N12) reports
Source and signal
- Internal intake