At least four people killed as Russia launches major overnight offensive on the Ukrainian capital

At least four people were killed, including children, after Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple cities, with the capital Kyiv, bearing the brunt of the assault.

It’s the first major bombardment to target the Ukrainian capital since last month’s aerial campaign which killed close to two dozen people.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday's casualties via his official Telegram channel. Tkachenko also announced that at least 10 others were wounded in the attack, which he says targeted mainly civilian areas across the city.

A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city centre.

“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed the “savage strikes” in a post on X, saying the large-scale attacks involved nearly 500 strike drones and more than 40 missiles, including the Kinzhal ballistic missile, which bombarded the country for more than 12 hours.

“The main targets of the enemy strikes were Kyiv and the region, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa regions,” wrote Zelenskyy.

“As of now, four people have been reported killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old girl. My condolences to all the families and loved ones. Across Ukraine, at least 40 people are known to have been injured, including children,” he continued.

Zelenskyy noted that ordinary places, like a bread production facility and a tire manufacturing plant were among those targeted in the attacks.

The Russian missiles also struck civilian homes and residential buildings. Zelenskyy says that emergency teams have responded to the scene and are delivering the necessary aid and care to all the victims.

The Ukrainian leader accused the Kremlin of deliberately targeting civilians in a bid to incite terror and fear. He also accused Moscow of making a statement with the attack, following the wave of condemnations it received at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High-level week, which closed on Saturday.

“This vile attack came virtually as the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world.”

Zelenskyy says that Russia “benefits from continuing this war” so long as it continues to generate money from its energy sales. He also vowed to continue fighting back to reduce Moscow’s military might.

“The Kremlin benefits from continuing this war and terror as long as it earns revenue from energy and operates a shadow fleet. We will continue to strike back to deprive Russia of those revenue streams and to compel it toward diplomacy,” said Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president urged allies to exert more pressure on Moscow to choke their financing. He also called on the world to heed US President Donald Trump’s plan to force Russia to the negotiating table and end their full-scale invasion, well into its fourth year.

“Everyone who wants peace must back President Trump’s efforts and halt any Russian imports. The time for decisive action is long overdue”.

The Ukrainian leader, who recently returned from the US after participating at the annual UNGA, says that Kyiv is counting on a strong response to these attacks from Washington, Europe, the G7, and the G20.