Bodies have been pulled from the rubble of an apartment building in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv on Thursday.
The search operation was still ongoing late Thursday night. At least 16 people, including two children, were confirmed dead in the capital, according to the state rescue service. In addition, 47 people were injured in the Russian attack.
The death toll could rise further as more people are feared to be under the rubble.
Over 50 residential buildings
Another seven people were injured in the surrounding Kyiv region, according to authorities. In the large city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, 28 people were injured, and two were injured in the Odesa region in the south. In total, more than 50 residential buildings have been damaged, Zelenskyy said.
The massive attacks on Ukrainian cities have continued practically non-stop since Wednesday. In total, over 1,500 drones and 56 missiles were fired at Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that 94 percent of the drones and 73 percent of the missiles were shot down.
"This is a deliberate terrorist tactic by the Russians, who have been amassing drones and robots over a period of time," the president wrote.
At least 14 people were killed and over 80 injured in Wednesday's attacks, according to the Kyiv Independent newspaper.
UN vehicles attacked
Several world leaders condemned the attacks. "Moscow chooses escalation over negotiations," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X. French President Emmanuel Macron said the attacks on civilians show that Russia does not know how to end its war of aggression.
Ukraine has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council due to the attacks, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced.
A UN convoy was attacked twice in Kherson, southern Ukraine, on Thursday. The head of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA was in one of the well-marked vehicles. He said the convoy was hit by drones twice, adding that he could not determine who was behind the attack, but stressed that they were accompanying local Ukrainian authorities to deliver supplies to more than 200 civilians.
"The Russians could not have been unaware of which vehicle they were targeting," Zelenskyy said on X.
