[UPDATES] As of Friday, Aug. 29, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said the rescue operation had been completed, confirming that 25 people — including four children — were killed in the Russian attack on Thursday, Aug. 28.
Russia launched a massive overnight assault on Ukraine’s capital early Thursday, Aug. 28, firing ballistic and cruise missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and waves of Iranian-made Shahed drones in one of the deadliest strikes on Kyiv in months.
The attack set fires across the city, ripped through residential neighborhoods, and killed at least 18 people, including three children aged 2, 14, and 17, Ukrainian officials said. At least 45 others were wounded, with the casualty toll expected to rise as rescue operations continued.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the barrage caused destruction in six districts of the capital: Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Desnianskyi. “This is one of the most severe attacks on our city,” he said.
In the Darnytskyi district, a five-story apartment building was split in two, trapping residents inside and forcing rescuers to dig through rubble in search of survivors. Drone debris struck the roof of a nine-story building nearby, sparking another blaze.
In the Dniprovskyi district, falling debris set fire to a three-story office building, a 25-story tower and a nine-story apartment block. A kindergarten was also hit and caught fire. In Shevchenkivskyi, a school and an office building were damaged while a residential block went up in flames.
Elsewhere, drone fragments set a private house ablaze in the Solomianskyi district, and a Shahed drone crashed in the yard of a residential complex in Sviatoshynskyi, though no major damage was reported. Debris also fell in the Desnianskyi district, authorities said.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed flames tearing through buildings, shattered windows, and emergency crews pulling survivors from the smoking wreckage.
Emergency services continued working at dawn, pulling survivors from beneath collapsed buildings. Authorities warned that people may still be trapped in the ruins of the five-story apartment block in the Darnytskyi district.
“The search and rescue operation is ongoing,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram. “Kyiv has suffered another brutal night.”
A deadly Russian missile strike on Kyiv shows Moscow has no interest in “real diplomacy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media following the strike.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war,” Zelensky said on social media.
Ukraine expected a “reaction” from the world, including new sanctions, he added, specifically calling on Russia’s ally China and EU member Hungary to take strong stances.
Largest attack in weeks
The barrage marked the heaviest strike on Kyiv since July 31. The first three weeks of August had been relatively calm, with fewer large-scale missile assaults on the capital compared to previous months.
The latest attack also comes against the backdrop of renewed diplomatic maneuvering by US President Donald Trump.
Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Aug. 18, seeking to position himself as a broker in the war.