Russia Launches Massive Drone and Missile Strike on Ukraine, Killing 18

Russia launched one of its largest barrages of drones and missiles on Ukraine this year, killing at least 18 people, including a child, and wounding more than 100 others across the country, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, according to CNN.

Citing Ukrainian local authorities and the State Emergency Service, CNN reported that 118 people were injured as Russian strikes damaged residential buildings and sparked fires in multiple regions.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 659 drones and 44 missiles in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning. The attacks came in waves and targeted major cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the assault as a “massive terrorist attack” carried out with nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles. In a post on X, he said the strikes primarily targeted civilians.

In the capital, Kyiv, four people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy whose body was found in the rubble of a destroyed building. At least 48 others were wounded, according to the State Emergency Service. The chief executive officer of a Kyiv construction company said one strike detonated near a residential complex under construction, injuring six workers, two of whom were in serious condition and undergoing surgery.

In central Ukraine, three people were killed and 34 wounded in Dnipro, while at least one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, according to authorities cited by CNN.

Sybiha called the attacks war crimes and said those responsible must be held accountable.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia for “betting on war,” saying the overnight assault demonstrated that Moscow does not deserve any easing of sanctions. He confirmed fatalities in Odesa, Kyiv and Dnipro.

The strikes came days after a brief 32-hour ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Orthodox Easter holiday, following an earlier proposal by Zelensky for a pause in hostilities.