Russia hammers Ukraine in biggest prolonged drone attack since war began

By Kosta Gak, Svitlana Vlasova, Lauren Kent, CNN

Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) — A huge wave of Russian strikes overnight targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least 12 people and injuring at least 57 more, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia fired more than 1,560 drones on Ukraine since the start of Wednesday – making it the largest aerial attack on Ukraine in a two-day period since the war began. A further 56 missiles were launched overnight, Zelensky said Thursday.

Air raid alarms sounded for roughly 11 hours throughout Wednesday and overnight, according to CNN’s team on the ground.

At least 11 people were killed in an attack on a nine-story residential building in Kyiv, according to emergency services, including a 12-year-old girl. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a 15-year-old girl was also among the dead.

Another man in Kyiv died in hospital from injuries sustained in an attack on a gas station, police said.

There may still be residents trapped under the debris of the collapsed building, as the State Emergency Service said more than a dozen people have been reported missing.

“I heard a loud explosion. I ran out to the kitchen and saw people running around the yard, calling for help. Then I rushed out of the building and saw that the front entrance was gone,” building resident Olena Suntovska, 38, told CNN. “I was scared – it’s so stressful for me because I was worried about the kids,” the mother of three added.

Another resident, 76-year-old Polina, said she woke up to find that the window to her balcony had been blown out.

“I never imagined the damage would be this bad; when I went out into the yard, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Polina, who asked to be identified by her first name only. “We don’t have a proper bomb shelter here. There’s only one in a nearby building not in ours, so we don’t go down (underground) anywhere.”

The mayor of Kyiv described it as “the enemy’s largest-scale attack on the capital” and declared a day of mourning tomorrow. Zelensky said the two-day aerial barrage came after Russia “stockpiled drones and missiles over a period of time and deliberately timed the strike to ensure its scale was significant and the challenges for our air defense were as great as possible.” He added that Ukraine is preparing a response.

Meanwhile, attacks on the city of Kharkiv on Thursday morning injured at least 28 people, according to Zelensky. Two people were also injured in the Odesa region.

The large-scale wave of Russian attacks also targeted other regions, including Poltava and Zaporizhzhia, and damaged some energy and railway infrastructure.

A power substation and a high-voltage power line were damaged in Kyiv following a missile and drone strike, energy company DTEK said in a statement. A train locomotive was hit in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian railways), but the locomotive crew was able to evacuate in time.

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