A series of drone attacks orchestrated by Vladimir Putin led to a night of chaos in Ukraine’s capital, resulting in tragic casualties, including an infant and a young girl. The onslaught in Kyiv claimed the lives of at least three individuals and left ten others injured as explosions rocked various residential areas. Among the victims were an 11-month-old baby, a father, and his five-year-old daughter, with distressing footage showing a trapped resident pleading for help from a burning apartment block following the surprise drone assault.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as horrific, with one individual witnessing a man engulfed in flames inside an apartment, deeming it a nightmare. Mayor Vitali Klitschko labeled the incident as a “massive enemy drone attack on Kyiv.” Despite air defenses successfully intercepting 97 out of 147 drones aimed at Ukraine, the strikes in Kyiv caused secondary explosions and fires upon impact, resulting in additional casualties. Tragically, one woman perished due to a fire ignited by drone debris in the Dniprovskyi district, while another individual lost their life in the Holosiivskyi district.
Reports from a Telegram channel highlighted the chaotic atmosphere in the capital’s skies, with fires erupting in numerous high-rise buildings as air raid sirens blared for over five hours due to the Shahed drone assaults. The attacks were not confined to Kyiv, as other regions like Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Donetsk also bore the brunt of the strikes, marking the second consecutive night where father-daughter duos fell victim to Russian aggression.
In Zaporizhzhia, the previous night saw Ulyana-Hrystyna Malenko, 17, and her father perish in a Russian strike targeting innocent civilians, while her mother succumbed to injuries in the hospital shortly after being rescued from the rubble. Meanwhile, Ukraine retaliated against Russia using drones, resulting in a fatality in the Rostov region and strikes on an oil refinery in Volgograd and Astrakhan.
The Russian defense ministry reported the destruction of 59 drones overnight, with fresh explosions reported at the critical Russian oil exporting hub, Kavkazskaya, where towering flames illuminated the night sky. The facility had been ablaze since a previous attack on Wednesday, disrupting Russian oil supply chains. These incidents followed the devastation in Odesa caused by a post-ceasefire drone attack that injured multiple individuals, including a young girl.
Amidst dramatic scenes captured by residents in a southern Ukrainian city, videos circulated on Telegram showcased massive explosions and shockwaves devastating local infrastructure, marking one of the most severe drone attacks witnessed during the conflict. The aftermath revealed charred remnants of buildings and billowing smoke engulfing the skyline, underscoring the destructive impact of the assault on the city’s southern sector.