Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned Russia’s latest overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv and other cities, calling it further evidence that Moscow – not Kyiv – is blocking peace efforts.
“Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine, targeting civilians in Kyiv and other areas,” Sybiha wrote on X.
“Yesterday’s Russian maximalist demands for Ukraine to withdraw from its regions, combined with these brutal strikes, show that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace. Moscow, not Kyiv, is where pressure should be applied.”
The minister highlighted the devastation in Kyiv, saying it “experienced a particularly horrible and loud night.”
Sybiha added that other cities and communities across Ukraine were also hit by missiles and drones during the night, resulting in further civilian casualties.
“Putin demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war,” he added. “Weakness and concessions will not stop his terror and aggression. Only strength and pressure will.”
At least nine people were killed and over 70, including six children, were injured in Kyiv after a massive overnight Russian missile and drone strike, local authorities said on April 24.
Among the injured 31 victims remain hospitalized, according to Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
Kyiv was the hardest hit in a combined Russian attack that targeted nine regions, including those of Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, and Zaporizhzhia. Emergency crews responded to around 40 fires across the country, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported.
In Kyiv’s Svyatoshynskyi district, rescuers continue to clear rubble from two destroyed residential buildings, where calls were reportedly heard from under the debris, and two children remain missing.
Kharkiv was also struck 24 times, damaging homes, a clinic, a school, and industrial sites. Fires broke out across the city, with emergency services working under the threat of further strikes.
Klymenko said a rescuer was injured in a second strike as emergency teams worked in the Zhytomyr region.
“Striking civilians, emergency services while rescuing people is Russia’s style. We have experienced this repeatedly. That is why Ukraine insists on a complete and immediate ceasefire,” he wrote.