Russian forces unleashed one of the largest and most destructive attacks on Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 14, pounding the capital with a barrage of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Almost every district in Ukraine’s capital came under attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, with a death reported hours after Kyiv Post journalists heard explosions across the city.
Ukraine’s air force said it downed 405 out of 430 drones, and 14 out of 19 missiles launched by Russia.
At least 4 people were killed and 29 were injured, including 2 children and a pregnant woman. Nine victims were hospitalized, according to the mayor.
Klitschko said sections of heating networks were damaged, leaving parts of the northeastern Desnyansky district without heat at a time when temperatures hovered around 4 degrees Celsius (40 Fahrenheit).
“The key targets for Russia last night were residential areas in Kyiv and energy facilities,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, accusing Russia of a “heinous” attack.
“This was a deliberately calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure,” he also said.
Debris from an Iskander missile hit the Azerbaijani embassy, Zelensky added.
The State Emergency Service reported widespread destruction: around 30 residential buildings were damaged, many of them high-rises that suffered direct hits or severe fires.
The Desnyansky district was among the hardest hit. A fire engulfed apartments from the 5th to the 8th floors of a high-rise, where rescuers evacuated 14 people and pulled another from under the rubble.
A separate fire nearby forced the evacuation of 59 people. In Dniprovsky district, two apartments in a five-story building caught fire, while two upper floors – the 19th and 21st – of another high-rise were destroyed.
Podil, Obolon, Solomiansky, Sviatoshynsky and Holosiivsky districts all reported strikes or falling debris. In Podil, a missile smashed into a high-rise at the 15th floor.
In Obolon, debris set apartments on the 7th to 9th floors ablaze. Debris also fell on a hospital and a school, though no casualties were reported at those sites.
The capital’s military chief, Tymur Tkachenko, warned of the scope of destruction, writing on social media:
“Russians are hitting residential buildings. There are a lot of damaged high-rise buildings throughout Kyiv, almost in every district.”
Kyiv Post correspondents in different districts reported hearing explosions for hours as Russia launched dozens of missiles almost simultaneously – Kalibr missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Iskander ballistic missiles from ground launchers – in an apparent attempt to overwhelm air defenses.
Swarms of drones followed, terrorizing the city for nearly six hours.
Ukrainian monitoring groups called the assault “one of the most massive” ever on Kyiv. Mykolaivskyi Vanek, the country’s largest monitoring channel, wrote:
“This was probably one of the worst attacks in terms of consequences — more than 30 residential buildings damaged, and multiple direct hits by Shaheds on apartment blocks.”
The Kyiv region was hit hard as well. Mykola Kalashnyk, head of Kyiv’s regional military administration, said six people were injured, including a child, as critical infrastructure and residential buildings went up in flames.
The Kremlin has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in recent months, damaging energy and natural gas facilities that supply much of the country’s heating fuel. Most of the capital was left in the dark earlier this month after another such strike.