Russia assaults Ukraine with over 800 drones and decoys, the largest such attack in the war

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia hit Ukraine’s capital with drone and missiles Sunday in the largest aerial attack on the country since the war began, killing at least two people and leaving smoke rising from the roof of a key government building.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 805 drones and decoys, officials said.

Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force, confirmed to The Associated Press that Sunday’s attack was the largest Russian drone strike since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Russia also launched 13 missiles of various types.

Ukraine shot down and neutralized 747 drones and 4 missiles, according to a statement from the Air Force.

There were nine missile hits and 56 drone strikes in 37 locations across Ukraine. Debris from downed drones and missiles fell on eight locations.

Associated Press reporters saw a plume of smoke rising from the roof of Kyiv’s cabinet of ministers building, but it was not immediately clear if the smoke was the result of a direct hit or debris, which would mark an escalation in Russia’s air campaign. Russia has so far avoided targeting government buildings in the city center.

The building is the home of Ukraine’s Cabinet, housing the offices of its ministers. Police blocked access to the building as fire trucks and ambulances arrived.

Ukrainian officials said two people were killed and at least 17 injured in the attack.

“For the first time, the government building was damaged by an enemy attack, including the roof and upper floors,” said Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. “We will restore the buildings, but lost lives cannot be returned.”

“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but with actions. There is a need to strengthen sanctions pressure — primarily against Russian oil and gas,” she said.

The two people killed were a mother and her 3-month old child, whose bodies were dug out of the rubble by rescuers, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. Initially Tkachenko said the child was 1 year old. At least 10 locations in Kyiv were damaged in the attack, he added.

Russian drones struck a nine-story residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district and a four-story residential building in Darnytskyi district, according to Mayor Vitallii Klitschko. Tkachenko said these were direct hits.

Sunday’s attack is the second mass Russian drone and missile attack to target Kyiv in the span of two weeks, as hopes for peace talks wane.

The attack comes after European leaders pressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to work to end the war after 26 of Ukraine’s allies pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once the fighting ends.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to meet Putin to negotiate a peace agreement, and has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to put punishing sanctions on Russia to push it to end the war.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that drone debris struck a four-story building in Sviatoshynskyi District. It was a nine-story building.

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Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed.