LONDON — A “huge” Russian missile and drone assault on Kyiv on Wednesday night time killed no less than 12 folks and injured greater than 40 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a submit to social media on Thursday.
“All through the night time, our emergency companies have been working on the websites of Russian strikes,” Zelenskyy wrote. “The assault was huge — the Russians ready for a very long time and mixed several types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones to inflict as a lot harm as potential on civilian infrastructure.”
Ukraine’s air power stated Russia launched an unspecified variety of ballistic missiles into the nation in a single day in addition to 46 cruise or air-to-ground missiles of assorted varieties. Russia additionally launched 168 drones, the air power stated.
“The principle route of the assault was the Kyiv area,” the air power wrote in a submit to Telegram. It added that 41 cruise missiles of assorted varieties and 145 drones have been shot down or in any other case suppressed, with munitions reported impacting throughout 28 places.
An explosion is pictured in Kyiv, Ukraine, throughout a Russian missile strike on Aug. 20, 2026.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
The air power didn’t say whether or not any ballistic missiles have been shot down. Earlier this month, the air power stopped publishing the variety of ballistic missiles fired or intercepted in Russia’s nightly barrages.
Across the capital, Zelenskyy stated that residential buildings, a youngsters’s hospital and faculty have been among the many websites broken. The president additionally reported in a single day Russian assaults within the southern Odesa and northern Chernihiv areas.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated in posts to Telegram that harm was reported within the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi and Darnitskyi areas of the town, together with fires at warehouses and residential buildings.
Current months have seen an expansion of Russian missile attacks all throughout Ukraine, as officers in Kyiv warn that Ukrainian shares of anti-missile interceptor munitions are dangerously low and, in some instances, exhausted.
Ukraine is working by itself ballistic missile interceptor program — the FREYJA — however officers in Kyiv have stated they don’t count on the weapon to be operational till 2027.
A rescuer evacuates a resident from an condominium constructing hit by Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 20, 2026.
Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters
Zelenskyy on Thursday once more appealed to international companions to route extra ammunition to Kyiv. “Sadly, whereas Moscow is investing in ballistics and escalation, there is not at all times the mandatory response from the world to such assaults,” he wrote.
“So long as Ukraine lacks ample anti-ballistic defenses, Russia won’t significantly take into account peace. We’re doing the whole lot we are able to to make sure safety, and work on the FREYJA program continues day by day. Nevertheless, interceptors for ‘Patriot’ methods aren’t but obtainable, and they’re wanted day by day,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“Every extra missile saves the lives of our folks. I thank everybody who understands this, who seeks and finds methods to assist,” he added.
Ukrainian Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha reported a “horrible and sleepless night time in Kyiv,” in a submit to X. “This was probably the most brutal Russian assaults so far, with ballistic missiles raining down on our capital one after one other,” he wrote.
Russia’s Protection Ministry described the in a single day assault as having focused “army industrial enterprises, a transport and logistics hub and warehouses in Kyiv and the Kyiv area.”
Smoke rises over Kyiv, Ukraine, throughout a Russian missile strike on Aug. 20, 2026.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
The Protection Ministry additionally stated that it shot down no less than 726 Ukrainian drones over 18 Russian areas plus Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Not less than 28 drones have been shot down over the Moscow area, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated on Telegram.
