A significant missile and drone offensive by Russia overnight resulted in the deaths of at least 18 individuals across Ukraine, with two of the victims being children.
This attack marks one of the largest assaults from Moscow in recent months.
In Dnipro, local authorities reported that an eight-year-old boy and a woman were among 12 casualties pulled from the debris of a collapsed apartment building.
Meanwhile, six fatalities were confirmed in the capital city of Kyiv.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced that the strikes targeted civilian infrastructure and energy facilities nationwide, leaving over 100 people injured.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the attacks were retaliation for earlier Ukrainian assaults, asserting that all “strike objectives” had been met.
The Kremlin stated on Tuesday that it was executing “systematic strikes” as promised, following accusations against Kyiv for a deadly strike on a student dormitory in an occupied eastern region in late May.
In response, Kyiv maintained that it had targeted a Russian military unit.
”This approach will persist,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters on Tuesday, asserting that the strikes aimed at Ukrainian military infrastructure.
In his evening video address on Monday, President Zelensky had forewarned of a potential “massive strike,” urging citizens to remain vigilant regarding air raid alerts.
On Tuesday morning, he reported that Russia had unleashed 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types, including ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship missiles, during the overnight offensive.
”We urgently require assistance from the United States to supply missiles for Patriot systems,” the Ukrainian president stated, referencing the interception technology used to counter Russian missiles.
Patriot missiles have been in limited supply, further strained by the ongoing conflict involving the US and Israel against Iran.
Since regaining power last year, President Donald Trump has halted direct military supplies to Ukraine, prompting Kyiv’s European allies to procure these systems from the US before delivering them to Ukraine.
”The primary assault was focused on Kyiv, where numerous residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure sustained damage once again,” Zelensky remarked.
Rescue teams sifting through the wreckage of the Dnipro apartment building reported recovering the bodies of an eight-year-old boy and a woman, according to regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha, who noted that another child also perished in the explosion.
The attack “essentially demolished” a portion of the structure, Zelensky conveyed via X.
Across both cities, more than 90 individuals were reported injured, while Kharkiv in the northeast, also targeted with strikes on its energy facilities and civilian sites, reported 10 injuries, including one child.
Additionally, an industrial site was struck further south in Zaporizhzhia as various regions throughout the country came under fire, as indicated by the president.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong