Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine since the war began, firing hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday.
The attack killed at least 30 people, injured more than 90 others and damaged around 130 buildings in the deadliest strike on the Ukrainian capital this year.
Multiple explosions rocked central Kyiv throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed into bomb shelters and underground metro stations while thick columns of smoke rose across the city's skyline.
Ukraine's emergency service said the death toll climbed to 30 after three more bodies were recovered from the rubble.
Earlier, the head of Kyiv's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said 91 people had been injured and warned that the number of casualties was likely to increase as rescue teams searched for residents trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
At one site in an eastern suburb on the left bank of the Dnipro River, rescue workers recovered five bodies while eight residents remained missing.
"Rescue crews will work without interruption until all the debris is cleared," Tkachenko said, adding that more victims could still be found.
Massive destruction across Kyiv
The scale of destruction stretched across much of the capital and had few precedents even after more than five years of war. Around 130 buildings were damaged, with several suffering extensive structural destruction.
One nine-storey residential building was left half-destroyed. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage had been recorded across the city of nearly three million residents and announced Friday as an official day of mourning.
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The previous deadliest attack on Kyiv this year occurred in May, when 24 people were killed.
Zelenskiy blames delayed air defence deliveries
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cut short his visit to Ireland and returned to Kyiv, where he visited the destroyed residential building.
He said the devastation was partly caused by delays in the delivery of promised air defence systems by Ukraine's allies.
"If our partners had delivered on their promises in a timely manner, I think we could have saved more homes and lives today," Zelenskiy said. "All we ask of our partners is simply to do what we've agreed on."
In his nightly address, Zelenskiy said strengthening Ukraine's air defences would be one of the key issues at next week's NATO summit in Turkey.
He renewed his call for Europe to build its own comprehensive air defence capability against Russian ballistic missiles, adding, "If, of course, NATO still means anything to the allies."
Russia fires nearly 500 drones, dozens of missiles
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones during the overnight assault.
Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said the number of ballistic missiles used was unusually high while Ukraine's interception rate was lower than normal due to shortages of Patriot missile interceptors.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its "massive attack" targeted military facilities, energy infrastructure and airports in Kyiv and other locations using long-range precision air-, land- and sea-launched weapons along with drones.
Moscow described the strikes as retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia.
Ukraine strikes Russian refinery
Ukraine said it carried out its own overnight strike on an oil refinery in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region. Regional authorities reported that one person was killed after a strike hit an industrial facility.
The Kremlin said Russian military commanders had briefed President Vladimir Putin on the attacks and vowed to intensify military pressure to achieve Russia's war objectives.
The Ukrainian Red Cross said its humanitarian warehouse in Kyiv was destroyed in the attack, resulting in the loss of approximately 320,000 relief items needed for emergency operations across Ukraine.
Among the damaged facilities was the National Institute of Biochemistry, where a state-of-the-art laboratory and offices were gutted.
"This is a catastrophe for medical and biological science of Ukraine," biologist Yurii Danylovych told Reuters.
Civilians and diplomats affected
City officials said children, paramedics and ambulance station drivers were among the injured.
Kyiv resident Iryna Plekhova said her apartment building was destroyed while her neighbour was rescued from the flames during the bombardment.
"Our house is on fire. Oleg was pulling our neighbour out of the burning house, while I was phoning all the emergency services during the explosions," she wrote on Facebook. "We do not have an apartment anymore."
European Union Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said accommodation used by diplomatic personnel was also struck. While diplomats escaped unharmed, many of their belongings were destroyed in a fire.
International response grows
Ukraine's neighbour Poland, a NATO and European Union member, temporarily scrambled fighter jets as a precaution during the Russian attack.
Finland also briefly imposed a temporary aviation restriction zone over the eastern Gulf of Finland.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for stronger sanctions against Russia, saying she would propose new measures targeting entities supporting Moscow's military-industrial complex.
"The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed," she said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the strikes, describing them as part of a "deadly pattern" of attacks on populated civilian areas.
Despite the escalating violence, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian and US negotiators had held talks over the previous two days.
He also expressed hope of meeting US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of next week's NATO summit after previously proposing peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an offer the Kremlin rejected.
More deadly attacks reported on Friday
Russian attacks continued into Friday, with officials reporting four additional deaths overnight.
In Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, two women, an elderly man and a girl younger than two years old were killed after a Russian drone struck a house, while three others were injured, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said.
In Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskiy's hometown, seven people were injured after a Russian missile struck a densely populated urban area, according to defence council head Oleksandr Vilkul.
Friday is being observed as a day of mourning in Kyiv following the capital's deadliest Russian attack of the year.
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