Russian missile barrage on Kyiv kills at least 18, hits British Council and EU delegation buildings

A mass overnight Russian aerial attack on Kyiv killed at least 18 people, including four children, and left dozens wounded, according to the latest data from Ukrainian officials.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said early reports showed at least eight people had been killed, including a child. Kyiv city military administration head Tymur Tkachenko later raised the death toll to 10. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said rescuers then pulled three more bodies from the rubble, bringing the toll to 13 — including three victims aged 2, 14 and 17. Later in the day, Tkachenko confirmed the number of dead had climbed to 18, including four children.

Authorities said 45 people were injured and 10 more remained missing. Fires and destruction were reported in the Ukrainian capital’s Darnytskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts.

Klymenko reported that approximately 500 rescue workers and 1,000 police officers were deployed across the city.

Authorities said parts of Kyiv's transport network were disrupted and that heavy smoke had spread after the blasts. Tkachenko noted “many thousands” of windows were shattered, with up to 80 buildings damaged in the Holosiivskyi District alone.

“An order has been given to release reserve funds immediately. We will direct additional resources to provide assistance,” he wrote.

“Numerous fires broke out and apartment buildings, private homes, a kindergarten, a post office, a university, office and administrative buildings, garages and warehouses were destroyed,” said Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

The attack also damaged the British Council’s Kyiv office, injuring one of its guards, as well as the building of the European Union’s delegation to Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “outraged” by Russia’s overnight strikes on Kyiv, noting the attack came dangerously close to the EU’s diplomatic mission in Ukraine.

Von der Leyen noted that “two missiles” landed within 50 meters of the delegation in the span of 20 seconds. “It shows that the Kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorize Ukraine,” she warned.

The UK and EU have summoned Russia’s envoys in London and Brussels in order to voice their dissatisfaction with the Kremlin’s actions.

The Kremlin defended the strikes. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s “special military operation continues” and claimed Moscow was responding to Ukrainian attacks that “often target Russian civilian infrastructure.” He insisted Russian forces were striking “military and quasi-military facilities,” calling the attacks “successful” and saying their “objectives are being fulfilled.”

Air raid sirens blared across Ukraine overnight as Russia launched hypersonic missiles and waves of drones, forcing residents in nearly every region to seek shelter.

At least four MiG-31 fighter jets armed with Kinzhal ballistic missiles took off during the assault, Ukraine’s Air Force said Thursday.

In total, Russia launched 598 drones — including Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and decoys — along with 31 missiles, among them two Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, nine Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force reported. Ukrainian forces shot down 563 of the drones and 26 of the missiles, according to the statement.