Russia conducted a significant drone and missile assault on Ukraine early Friday, resulting in six fatalities in Kyiv and two in the southern region due to strikes on energy installations, residential buildings, and infrastructure, as confirmed by Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that Russian forces deployed 430 drones and 18 missiles, marking one of the largest attacks on the capital to date. Despite most of the drones and missiles being intercepted by air defenses, falling debris and fires caused damage to high-rise apartments, a school, a medical facility, and administrative structures across nine districts in the city.
According to Timur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, at least 34 individuals, including two children, sustained injuries in various parts of the city. Power outages were reported in central Kyiv, the southern Odesa region, and the eastern Donetsk region, as per the energy ministry.
Eyewitness accounts and images depicted flames engulfing different locations in the city, with residents gathered in debris-laden streets outside residential buildings post-attack. Anastasia, 29, recounted the chaos when her apartment block was struck, emphasizing the overwhelming sense of urgency to assist those in distress.
Reports indicated that the governor of the Kyiv region confirmed injuries to six individuals, including a seven-year-old child, due to drone and missile attacks that also ignited fires. In a separate incident, a 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva suffered burns and required hospital treatment.
The assault extended to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where oil exports were briefly halted after a Ukrainian drone attack, impacting a docked ship, apartment complexes, and an oil depot. The incident, one of the most substantial assaults on Russian oil infrastructure in recent times, followed Ukraine’s escalated strikes on Russian oil refineries in August, aiming to undermine Moscow’s financial resources for the ongoing conflict.
Furthermore, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium temporarily suspended oil loadings from Kazakhstan via the Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal due to the air alert triggered by the attack. Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted two oil berths at the Sheskharis terminal, causing a fire at an oil depot that was eventually extinguished, as per local officials.
Despite the absence of immediate comments from Ukrainian authorities, Reuters could not independently verify the attack details. Russian crude oil shipments through Novorossiysk’s Sheskharis terminal in October and the preceding months were disrupted, affecting global supply chains and maritime operations in the region.
In response to the ongoing hostilities, President Zelenskyy revealed the successful utilization of Ukrainian long-range cruise missiles against Russian targets, emphasizing the increasing effectiveness of such operations. The Russian Defence Ministry reported the interception of 216 Ukrainian drones across various regions, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.