Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack on Kyiv overnight on Nov. 13-14, battering the capital with hundreds of drones and multiple missiles.
One person was killed in the attack and at least 24 have been injured, officials reported. Five of the injured victims have been hospitalized, including a pregnant woman.
Several explosions were reported in Kyiv beginning around 12:45 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Two additional waves of explosions were reported between 1 and 1:30 a.m.
“The Russians are striking residential buildings,” Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko warned amid the strikes. “Many high-rise buildings across Kyiv have been affected, in almost every district,” he added.
At least 11 multi-story buildings throughout the city were struck in the overnight attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Rescuers evacuated over 40 people from targeted buildings, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. The agency reported strikes, fires, and evacuations at residential buildings in Kyiv’s Podilskyi, Dniprovskyi, Desnianskyi, Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, and Obolonskyi districts.
A fire broke out at a high-rise building in the Desnianskyi district on the 5th-8th floors, killing one person.
The attacks also damaged a hospital, a school, and wooden buildings at a sports facility, the State Emergency Service reported.
Klitschko reported that sections of the district heating network were damaged in the strikes. Emergency crews are assessing the extent of the damage.
Kyiv Independent journalists reported power outages in several districts of the city during the attacks.
While buildings burned in Kyiv, Ukraine’s Air Force reported waves of drones targeting the country’s central, southern, and eastern regions. Monitoring groups reported that upwards of 120 drones and decoys were bound for the capital. Dozens of cruise and ballistic missile were also launched towards various regions of Ukraine, the Air Force said.
In Kyiv Oblast, six people were injured in the overnight attack, including a child, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said. Four victims were hospitalized due to cuts, burns, and head contusions. A 7-year-old boy suffered a facial injury and received medical treatment.
Homes, warehouses, industrial sites, and cars in the region were hit in the attack, Kalashnyk reported.
Air defenses are operating in the capital, officials reported. Air raid alerts were issued for the entire country due to the threat of a missile attack.
Russia has regularly launched large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In recent months, Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in an attempt to plunge Ukraine into another harsh winter.
In the most recent large-scale attack on Nov. 8, Ukrainian cities sustained “one of the largest direct ballistic missile attacks on energy facilities” since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, then-Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said.
The attack forced Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, to implement over 12 hours of emergency power cuts to stabilize the energy situation.
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