The Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were targeted by a large-scale strike using high-precision weapons and drones early on Sunday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. Moscow maintains that it targets only military and dual-use installations in response to Ukraine’s indiscriminate “terrorist attacks.”
The first blasts in Kiev were heard shortly after 1 AM local time, followed by further explosions in several waves, with local media reporting over 40 missile strikes by 3 AM. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported multiple fires near residential buildings, shopping centers, and unspecified “non-residential” facilities.
Several blurred videos shared on social media showed numerous blasts and successive fires in and around the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian Defense Ministry said high-precision air- and ground-launched weapons and attack drones targeted Ukrainian military-industrial facilities and logistics hubs in Kiev and the surrounding region.
The operation also targeted infrastructure at the Port of Yuzhny in Odessa Region that was being used to receive and store military cargo and fuel supplies intended to support Ukrainian forces, according to the MOD.
Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone raids deep inside Russian territory amid significant setbacks on the battlefield, often hitting residential buildings and deliberately targeting other civilian infrastructure.
On Saturday, seven night-shift workers were killed and another 25 were injured in a targeted strike on a logistics center operated by Russian online retailer Wildberries in the Tambov Region. Simultaneously, another Wildberries logistics center was attacked overnight in Elektrostal, around 50 km east of Moscow, injuring another 24 people.
Kiev routinely accuses Russia of deliberately striking civilian sites, but it has a long history of using civilian facilities, including warehouses, public buildings, and industrial sites, for military purposes.
Last month, Ukrainian media accidentally exposed a drone plant at a film studio struck by Russia. Over the course of the conflict, Kiev has taken considerable steps to decentralize its weapons production chain, establishing small-scale assembly sites that primarily manufacture FPV and fixed-wing long-range drones using components supplied from abroad.