A massive Russian ballistic missile and drone barrage struck regions across Ukraine overnight into Thursday, killing at least eight civilians, including children, and wounding dozens of others according to officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that Moscow launched more than 70 missiles—a significant number of them ballistic—alongside approximately 280 attack drones as reported by Reuters.
Massive Overnight Missile and Drone Attack Kills at Least Eight Across Ukraine
The nationwide assault targeted at least 10 Ukrainian regions, damaging dozens of homes, businesses, and infrastructure facilities as detailed by ClickOrlando. Ukraine’s air force reported that air defense units intercepted 55 missiles and 265 drones, but managed to shoot down only one out of nine ballistic missiles noted Reuters. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that its attack targeted military sites, including air bases, arms factories, logistics facilities, drone production plants, and a missile facility according to NPR.
Devastating Regional Impacts in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv, and Poltava
The deadliest single strike occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where a ballistic missile destroyed an ordinary home in the settlement of Radushne Kyivpost. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, confirmed that six people were killed in the region, including three children: a 6-year-old girl and boys aged 11 and 17 in the Kryvyi Rih area stated NPR. Local media and officials indicated that the strike destroyed two private homes and damaged five others Kyivpost.
In the capital city of Kyiv, where air alerts lasted more than five hours and thousands sheltered in metro stations, a ballistic missile strike killed a 31-year-old man and wounded two others according to Reuters and the National Police press service. In western Lviv, a cruise missile hit a residential apartment building without exploding, injuring 34 people—including three children aged 6, 13, and 15—according to Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration reported NPR. In the Poltava region, a drone struck company warehouses and killed one person, according to regional military head Vitalii Diakivnych noted NPR. Additionally, local officials reported that Russian forces dropped three glide bombs on an industrial zone in Kherson on Thursday morning, killing a 56-year-old man stated ClickOrlando.
Air Defense Shortages and Polish Airspace Concerns
Zelenskiy decried critical shortages of air defense supplies, emphasizing that the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system is currently the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of reliably intercepting ballistic missiles traveling at several times the speed of sound reported Reuters. Zelenskiy urged international partners, particularly the United States, to accelerate deliveries of interceptor missiles and fulfill commitments regarding production licenses Kyivpost.
During the onslaught, NATO member Poland scrambled fighter jets according to Reuters after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on X that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile had crossed into Polish airspace reported ClickOrlando. Polish military command dispatched a helicopter to investigate its last known location, where a crew discovered a probable impact site in a farming area in the Lublin province stated ClickOrlando, though Polish authorities had not officially confirmed what, if anything, crashed noted NPR.
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