Major Russian attack on Kyiv, other Ukraine cities kills at least 11, wounds dozens

Ukraine’s air force said Russia ⁠launched 656 drones and 73 missiles overnight, mainly targeting Kyiv

Russian drones and missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities early on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said, following days of warnings about Moscow’s plans for a major assault.

Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power supply and infrastructure in a war now more than four years old, while Ukraine has stepped up attacks this year on Russian oil facilities. Both deny targeting civilians.

Last week, the Kremlin warned that it intended “systematic strikes” on ‌targets in Kyiv in response to a drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held region of Luhansk, which killed 21. Ukraine denied the attack.

Photographs showed large explosions and plumes of smoke billowing over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where overnight strikes killed four people and wounded 65, including children, according to the capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.

A suspected missile strike on a 24-storey residential building triggered a collapse, leaving people probably trapped under the rubble, Klitschko added, while a nine-storey block was among other buildings set ablaze by suspected missile debris.