Nato scrambles fighter jets as Russia launches devastating wave of strikes on Kyiv
A devastating barrage of Russian missiles and drones struck the Ukrainian capital overnight, claiming four lives and leaving more than 50 people wounded, including three children.
The assault targeted over 40 sites throughout Kyiv, causing destruction across every district of the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the night as "terrible," with residential buildings and schools among the structures damaged in the bombardment.
Falling debris sparked fires in homes, warehouses, a supermarket and a shopping centre, according to the mayor.
Tymur Tkachenko, who leads Kyiv's military administration, warned on Telegram shortly after midnight that "the capital has been subjected to a massive ballistic attack. Further launches are possible."
Rescue operations remain ongoing as emergency crews work to reach survivors.
In the central Shevchenko district, one person died when a nine-storey residential block was struck, igniting a blaze on the upper floors.
Elsewhere in the same neighbourhood, a strike near a school's air raid shelter left its entrance blocked with rubble, trapping several individuals inside.
At least 10 apartment buildings and a market at the Kvadrat shopping centre sustained damage during the onslaught.
Emergency services deployed across multiple locations throughout the city, battling fires, removing debris and providing medical treatment to casualties.
Beyond the capital itself, two further deaths were confirmed in the surrounding Kyiv region by local official Mykola Kalashnyk.
He condemned the assault as "deliberate terror against peaceful people," noting that rescue teams were responding at all affected sites.
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The strikes came after President Vladimir Putin vowed revenge for what Russia claims was a Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in Starobilsk on Friday, which Moscow says killed 18 people.
Russian sources put the death toll at the Luhansk college dormitory at least 12, describing the victims as mainly female students.
Ukraine's armed forces acknowledged conducting an operation near Starobilsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine that night, but insisted the target was an elite military unit.
Ukrainian officials maintained they struck a facility "whose personnel regularly carry out strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine."
President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned beforehand that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a major combined assault on Ukrainian territory.
Nato forces responded to the massive assault, with Poland announcing the scrambling of French air force jets as Russian long-range aircraft conducted operations against Ukrainian territory.
Warsaw said that ground-based air defence and radar detection systems had been placed on alert, and that military aircraft were operating in Polish airspace.
The bombardment reportedly involved Tu-95MS nuclear-capable bombers, more than 50 missiles and 700 drones, utilising Dagger, Iskander and Kh-101 weapons systems.
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