The sound of explosions has been heard repeatedly in the Kyiv metropolitan area overnight. Journalists at the AFP news agency and the Kyiv Independent newspaper describe the series of attacks as “massive.”
In total, the country has been attacked with over 90 missiles and up to 600 drones, most of them targeting Kyiv. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, damage has been reported across the city.
“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” he says on Telegram.
The hypersonic missile Oreshnik reportedly hit the town of Bila Tserkva just south of Kyiv, according to Yuri Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.
So far, four deaths have been reported, and according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over 83 have been injured. Zelenskyy warned on Saturday that Russia was preparing an attack with the Russian hypersonic missile Oreshnik, and he is now commenting on last night's Russian attacks in a post on Telegram:
Zelenskyy: They are insane
"Three Russian missiles hit a water supply plant, a market burned down, dozens of residential buildings damaged, several ordinary schools, and he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) fired his 'Oreshnik' at Bila Tserkva (in central Ukraine). They are truly insane."
Russia confirms it has fired an Oreshnik missile at Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry says in a statement that it is doing so in response to Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russian territory.
Russia has used three Oreshnik missiles so far in the war, including in an attack in January this year. This was described at the time by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as “a clear escalation towards Ukraine and intended as a warning to the US and Europe”.
Multiple attack waves
The first round of attacks last night reportedly took place around 1 a.m. local time, with new waves of attacks around 3 and 4 a.m.
According to the Kyiv Independent, attacks have also been directed at the Odesa and Kharkiv regions, resulting in several injured people.
The Russian attack comes a day after President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would avenge the alleged attack on student housing in the occupied Luhansk region.
On X, Zelenskyy is also appealing to the outside world, writing that "decisions are needed from the US, Europe and others to get Moscow to finally utter the word 'peace'".
