Russian drone, missile attack on Kyiv kills at least 15, including an American, and injures dozens, Ukrainian officials say
Kyiv, Ukraine — A Russian missile and drone barrage in Kyiv overnight Tuesday killed at least 15 people and wounded 75 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr . It was one of the deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months. Local officials put the number of wounded at 99.
Russian drone strikes in the southern port city of Odesa also killed one and wounded 17 people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional administration.
Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said the attack hollowed out a nine-story residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
The Kyiv City Military Administration said in a statement that, "The nature of the damage is direct hits on residential buildings. Rockets - from the upper floors to the basement."
The attack lasted nearly nine hours and is the latest in a spate of mass drone and missile attacks on Kyiv as the war dragged on.
It occurred as world leaders convened at the Group of Seven meeting in Canada, which Zelenskyy was expected to attend. The summit runs through Tuesday.
Zelenskyy said on X that Russia launched more than 440 drones and 32 missiles into Ukraine. "Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks," Zelenskyy said. "Such attacks are pure terrorism," he added.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters at the scene that a U.S. citizen was killed in the attack after suffering wounds from shrapnel. Explosions could be heard for hours throughout the night on Tuesday.
Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block after it was struck by a ballistic missile, Klymenko said.
"We have 27 locations that were attacked by the enemy. We currently have over 2,000 people working there, rescuers, police, municipal services and doctors," he told reporters at the scene of one of the attacks.
Olena Lapyshniak, 49, was shaken from the attack that nearly leveled her apartment building. She heard a whistling sound and then two explosions that blew out her windows and doors.
"It's horrible, it's scary, in one moment there is no life," she said. "There's no military infrastructure here, nothing here, nothing. It's horrible when people just die at night."
People were wounded in the city's Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said fires broke out in two other city districts as a result of falling debris from drones shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
Canada, which assumed the presidency of the G7 this year, invited Zelenskyy to the summit, where he is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with world leaders.
Zelenskyy was set to meet with President Trump at the gathering Tuesday, but Mr. Trump left Canada early. The White House said his departure, which wasn't expected, was due to tensions in the Mideast.
Russia has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks. Moscow escalated attacks after Ukraine's Security Service agency staged an audacious operation targeting war planes in air bases deep inside Russian territory.
Little progress has emerged from direct peace talks held in Istanbul, with the exception of prisoner exchanges, expected to conclude next week, said Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu arrived in North Korea Tuesday to meet leader Kim Jong Un for a second time in less than two weeks, Russian news agencies reported, according to French news agency AFP. The Reuters news agency cited Russia's Tass news agency as saying Shoigu went to Pyongyang "on special instructions" from President Vladimir Putin.
