At least 16 people killed after Russia launches barrage of missiles and drones

Russia hammered civilian areas of Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 others in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, officials said on Thursday.

Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Thursday on X.

At least four people were killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, Mr Sybiha said.

Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south.

“Such attacks cannot be normalised. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account,” Mr Sybiha said on X.

Ukraine’s air force said air defences shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.

It said 20 strike drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.