Night of Russian airstrikes causes blackouts across Kyiv

A “massive” Russian drone and missile strike wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv yesterday, plunging Ukraine’s capital into darkness in the early hours in what Volodomyr Zelenskyy condemned as a “cynical and calculated” attack.

- Peter Beaumont

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said Russian forces had targeted “critical infrastructure”, and fragments from downed drones struck several parts of the city. Images posted online showed firefighters working to tackle burning blocks of flats.

The Ukrainian air force said the overnight Russian barrage comprised 465 drones and 32 missiles, and that its air defence systems had downed 405 and 15 of them respectively.

In the heart of Kyiv, rescuers pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-storey block of flats as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were taken to hospital, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, a seven-year-old child was killed in Russian strikes in the southeast.

President Zelenskyy said the main target had been Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as temperatures begin to drop.