Huge Russian strikes on Kyiv leave 17 dead as attacks spill over to Romanian and Moldovan territory

Huge Russian strikes on Kyiv kill 17

Activelifezero.com – Huge Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more overnight into Thursday, Ukrainian officials confirmed. The bombardment also spilled beyond Ukraine’s borders, reaching Romanian and Moldovan territory. Romania reported that an explosive-laden naval drone, believed launched from Russia, targeted one of its offshore natural-gas installations.

Damage Across the Capital

Local authorities in the Ukrainian capital said the barrage hit a hospital, a school, a preschool, multiple residential blocks, and several warehouses. CNN producers stationed in Kyiv heard repeated explosions and watched smoke columns rise over the skyline while an air-raid alert persisted for hours. Footage from Reuters showed enormous fires illuminating the night sky above the city.

Three separate air-raid alarms sounded in the capital during Thursday’s daylight hours. Although Ukraine has intercepted large swarms of Russian drones with some success, Moscow has repeatedly exploited Kyiv’s near-depleted stock of Patriot interceptor missiles—systems essential for countering faster ballistic warheads.

“This year we have two and a half times less interceptors than we had in 2025. Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in an earlier interview this month, adding that Ukraine holds only 10 percent of the interceptor missiles it urgently requires from the United States and other allies.

Russia’s defense ministry announced on Telegram that it had launched a “massive strike using high-precision weapons” aimed at military facilities, a transport-and-logistics hub, and warehouses in Kyiv and the wider region. Zelensky said Thursday that Moscow had spent considerable time preparing the operation, combining projectiles, cruise missiles, and drones to maximize damage to civilian infrastructure. Rescue crews pulled two survivors from rubble while ongoing attacks hampered their work; more than a dozen locations across the city were struck, emergency services reported.

“The missiles narrowly missed us by about 10 minutes,” Anastasiia Kovtun, 31, a Kyiv resident, told Reuters. She and neighbors had fled to a bomb shelter in a nearby parking garage. “By the time we were on our way back, the entire road had already been bombed, and all the buildings along the route were damaged.” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that windows were shattered at a children’s hospital in the Solomianskyi district.

Spillover Into Romania and Moldova

Beyond the capital, Russia struck gas infrastructure in the Chernihiv region and a border crossing with Moldova in the Odesa region, Zelensky said. Drone attacks and shelling also hit the regions of Zhytomyr, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. In the preceding 24 hours, the national death toll reached 25, with 132 more injured, according to regional military administrations.

Romania’s defense ministry said a Russian drone crashed into an uninhabited area in Tulcea county near the Ukrainian border. The ministry later reported scrambling two F-16 fighter jets to destroy a marine drone carrying explosives near a Romanian offshore gas project. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen labeled the naval drone an example of “hybrid warfare,” warning that “an escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union.”

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said her country’s airspace was again violated as “a drone came down on Moldovan territory. Russia must face far greater pressure to stop this.” Poland announced it had begun preventative military-aviation operations to safeguard its own airspace during the strikes. Meanwhile, Kyiv escalated its own offensive, launching more than 800 drones at Russia on Sunday in one of the conflict’s largest aerial assaults. Russia’s state-run TASS called it the biggest Ukrainian drone attack of the year, with many drones targeting the Moscow area. On Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 791 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people were killed in the latest Russian strikes on Kyiv?

Ukrainian authorities confirmed at least 17 deaths in the capital and surrounding region, with dozens more wounded. The nationwide 24-hour death toll reached 25.

Did the attacks affect countries other than Ukraine?

Yes. A Russian drone crashed into Tulcea county, Romania, and another was shot down near a Romanian offshore gas project. A separate drone landed on Moldovan territory, prompting airspace violations in both neighboring states.

Why has Ukraine struggled to intercept the latest barrage?

President Zelensky disclosed that Ukraine possesses only about 10 percent of the Patriot interceptor missiles it needs. Moscow has exploited this shortfall by mixing ballistic missiles with drones and cruise missiles in coordinated waves.