Kyiv woke to another night of fear turned reality, as a sweeping Russian strike tore through the capital, killing an elderly woman and injuring more than two dozen others. Ukraine’s emergency service described the assault as “massive,” a wave of missiles and drones that left entire blocks rattled and residents once again counting the cost of a war now entering yet another winter.
Fires broke out across much of the city, and rescue crews moved through smoke-filled stairwells to pull more than 40 people from damaged buildings. Among the injured was a 10-year-old boy. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said a pregnant woman and a man in critical condition were rushed to hospital as emergency services stretched themselves across nearly every district.
The strikes landed not only on homes but also on parts of the city’s heating network in the northeastern Desnianskyi district, briefly cutting off warmth as temperatures plunge. Kyiv officials have been warning for weeks that Moscow appears to be preparing the same tactic it used last year — hammering Ukraine’s energy systems just as winter tightens its grip.
The region’s chief, Mykola Kalashnyk, said the barrage also hit areas outside the capital, including Bila Tserkva, where a 55-year-old man suffered severe burns. He reiterated what has become a grim through-line of this conflict: critical infrastructure remains a prime target.
Across town, Tymur Tkachenko, who heads the city’s military administration, described the scale of damage as “widespread,” noting that high-rise buildings in nearly every district had been hit. In many neighborhoods, residents stood outside in the early light, wrapped in coats, staring up at shattered windows and twisted balconies.
Russia, for its part, claimed its own overnight battle: the defence ministry announced that its forces had shot down more than 200 Ukrainian drones. Kyiv has made no independent confirmation of Moscow’s assertion.
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The latest assault came just days after foreign ministers from the G7 reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and called for an immediate halt to the violence. Canada followed that declaration with fresh sanctions on Russian drone and energy production, as well as infrastructure linked to cyberattacks—an attempt to choke off the machinery behind the ongoing bombardment.
For Kyiv’s residents, geopolitical statements offer little comfort in the face of another night spent ducking for cover, listening for sirens, and hoping the next impact lands somewhere else.
