Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky [Getty Images]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky [Getty Images]

Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 50 others in what Moscow described as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian infrastructure.

According to Reuters and the Associated Press, Russia fired drones and missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from the previous night through Wednesday morning local time.

Ukrainian authorities said 13 people were killed in Kyiv alone, with 54 others injured, including two children.

About 30 buildings sustained damage, including a hotel that caught fire and 20 residential buildings.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the attack on X, formerly Twitter, as a "night of terror," warning that the death toll could rise depending on rescue operations.

Poland, which borders Ukraine, scrambled fighter jets as a precautionary measure.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was visiting Ireland at the time, had warned ahead of the attack that he had received "unpleasant information" about an impending large-scale Russian strike. He urged Ukrainian citizens to heed air raid alerts, then cut his visit short and returned to Ukraine immediately.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Telegram that it had carried out a large-scale strike on Kyiv and other locations using long-range, high-precision weapons and drones.

The ministry said the attack was "retaliation for Ukraine's strikes targeting Russian civilian infrastructure."

Ukraine keeps up drone campaign against Russia

Ukraine has been sustaining a drone air campaign against Russia in recent weeks.

Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine had struck the Dubna satellite communications center in the Moscow region.

The Dubna facility, located about 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, is an advanced communications installation used by the Russian military for intelligence gathering.

Ukraine struck the site on June 22 and attacked it again roughly a week later.

However, Russia has not officially confirmed that the Dubna communications center was attacked.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said only that a Ukrainian drone had struck an "administrative building" in a town, with no casualties reported.

Zelensky had previously announced a "40-day operation" aimed at pressuring Russia, which is struggling with an energy crisis, and achieving an end to the war.

While the specific details of the operation have not been disclosed, Ukraine has since sharply escalated its offensive, focusing strikes on Russian energy facilities.

In a June 29 speech, Zelensky referenced Russia's energy difficulties, saying drone strikes were "bringing the reality of war back to Russia."


yul@heraldcorp.com