KYIV -- Russia fired hundreds of drones and missile at targets across Ukraine, destroying apartment blocks and homes in the capital and elsewhere. At least 16 people were reported killed, and dozens injured.
The August 28 barrage was the largest to hit Kyiv in weeks, the latest sign that Russia does not intend to pull back from its attacks, either on the battlefield or on civilian targets.
The assault also comes nearly two weeks after a major summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump aimed at finding a halt to Moscow's 42-month-old invasion of Ukraine.
At least 16 people were confirmed dead as of midday, with more than three dozen wounded, Kyiv prosecutors said.
Rescuers picked through piles of smoking rubble looking for survivors, and officials warned the casualty toll was likely to rise.
One of the worst-hit sites was in Kyiv's Darnytsya district, where a section of a five-story residential building was directly hit.
In Kyiv and Kyiv region, August 29 was declared a day of mourning to honor the airstrikes' victims.
Large-Scale Attack
Ukraine's air force said the overnight attack included nearly 600 kamikaze and decoy drones, along with 31 missiles, including ballistic and cruise missiles. Some of the missiles were launched by aircraft.
At least 13 locations across the country were hit, with debris falling on 26 more locations.
The Kyiv bureau of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service was damaged, meanwhile, after two missiles hit civilian buildings a short distance away. Some windows were shattered, and equipment damaged.
"Those bearing witness to events in Ukraine should never be harmed. While the RFE/RL offices sustained damage, we are fortunate it appears no staff members were injured," said RFE/RL President Stephen Capus.
"Rest assured our journalists will continue their vital work. Our thoughts are with the families of those who were killed and injured in these attacks and Ukraine's first responders."
The attacks also damaged offices of the British Council and the EU Delegation in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for tougher international sanctions against Russia.
"It is already past time for new, strong sanctions against Russia for everything it is doing. Deadlines have been missed, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy have been ruined," Zelenskyy said in social media posts.
Zelenskyy urged countries like China and Hungary, both of which have called for peace initiatives, to respond to the civilian casualties.
European Leaders Condemn The Strikes
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the strikes "senseless" and directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of sabotaging peace efforts.
"My thoughts are with all those affected by the senseless Russian strikes on Kyiv which have damaged the British Council building. Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace," Starmer said in a statement posted on X.
Sky News reported that Britain's foreign office plans to summon the Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom over the deadly air strike.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the assault as an act of "terror and barbarism," citing the scale of the barrage.
"629 missiles and drones in a single night over Ukraine: This is Russia's idea of peace.... More than a dozen dead, including children. Residential areas and civilian infrastructures deliberately targeted. The offices of the European Union Delegation and the British Council damaged. France condemns these senseless and cruel attacks in the strongest possible terms," Macron said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would respond with fresh punitive measures.
"We will come forward soon with our 19th package of hard-biting sanctions. In parallel, we are advancing the work on the Russian frozen assets to contribute to Ukraine's defense and reconstruction. And of course we are ensuring strong, unwavering support to Ukraine, our neighbor, partner, friend, and future Member," von der Leyen said in a statement.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that Moscow’s envoy in Brussels had been summoned after the blast damaged the EU Delegation offices in Kyiv.
"No diplomatic mission should ever be a target. In response, we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels," Kallas wrote on X social network.
On The Battlefield
Across the 1,100-kilometer front line, Russian forces have continued to grind down outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian defenses.
Russian troops recently broke through Ukrainian lines northeast of the city of Pokrovsk, forcing Ukrainian commanders to redeploy some of their most experienced units to contain offensive.
"This is Russia's traditional position and course of action," Yuri Fedorov, an independent military expert, told Current Time. "While it's possible to look for a connection between Russia's actions -- such as the insane shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities -- and diplomatic developments surrounding Ukraine, Moscow is clearly continuing an established strategy, albeit unsuccessfully."
Despite the intensified negotiations from Trump and Putin, both Ukraine and Russia have continued to batter one another with aerial assaults.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) announced in a statement on August 28 that Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian Buyan-M class missile corvette in the Sea of Azov. The vessel, a small missile ship equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, was reportedly operating near Russian-occupied Crimea when it came under attack.
Shortly after Kyiv's announcement, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance ship during overnight strikes in the Danube estuary, in Ukraine's Odesa region.
Ukrainian drones targeted oil refineries in Russia's Krasnodar and Samara regions overnight, igniting fires at two plants. Ukrainian drones also struck a railway station in Samara, causing delays but no casualties.
Ukraine's targeting of oil refineries and pipelines has contributed to scattered shortages of gasoline in several Russian regions, with reports of widespread outages as far away as the Pacific region of Primorye.
