Russia pounds Kyiv with missiles and drones in intense overnight assault

Rescue workers try to put out a fire at a residential building after a Russian strike on Kyiv early on Sunday (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Russia has attacked Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight in an intense assault that shook buildings across the Ukrainian capital, including near government offices, residential buildings and schools.

At least two people were killed and 33 people were injured, local authorities said, citing preliminary figures. Air raid sirens blared through the night into Sunday as smoke billowed across the city from the strikes.

Damage was recorded in 40 locations across several districts of the city, including residential buildings, Kyiv military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said in a Telegram post.

Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, said: “It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war.

Kyiv residents Iryna and Ihor react after their home was destroyed in a Russian strike (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

“I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore, there is no possibility.

“My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.”

Yevhen Zosin, 74, a city resident who witnessed the attack, said the moment he heard an explosion he rushed to save his dog.

“Then there was another explosion and she and I were thrown back like a pin by the shock wave. We both survived, she and I. My apartment was blown to pieces,” he said.

In Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a five-storey residential building was hit, which caused a fire, and one person was killed, Ukraine’s state emergency service reported.

Red Cross volunteers carry an injured woman into an ambulance after a Russian strike on a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

A school building was damaged by an attack while people sheltered inside, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said. Local authorities reported supermarkets and warehouses across the city were also damaged.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was planning to use the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile, citing intelligence from the US and Western partners. Ukraine’s Air Force later warned of a possible launch of the Oreshnik.

It was not immediately clear if the missile had been used in the overnight attack.

Russia first used the multiple-warhead Oreshnik on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. It was used a second time in January in the western Lviv region.

President Vladimir Putin said the Oreshnik, which means “hazelnut tree” in Russian, streaks at 10 times the speed of sound, or Mach 10, and is capable of destroying underground bunkers “three, four or more floors down”.

The weapon travels “like a meteorite” and is immune to any missile defence system, Mr Putin said, adding that several such missiles, even fitted with conventional warheads, could be as devastating as a nuclear strike.