More than a dozen killed in Russian attacks on Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities

16 Apr 2026, 05:14 · France 24

Russia unleashed its deadliest attack so far this year on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities overnight, killing at least 19 people, including a 12-year-old child, and wounding scores more in drone and missile strikes, officials said on Thursday.

In Russia, a major Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Tuapse killed ‌two people, including a 14-year-old girl, wounded seven and sparked a large fire, Russian officials and media reported. The port is home to ⁠a major oil refinery as well as an export hub for oil, coal and fertiliser.

Overnight in Kyiv, fires in several different places sent black smoke billowing into the sky. Its heavy smell lingered through the morning as residents and emergency crews cleaned debris scattered ‌around heavily damaged buildings including apartment blocks and a hotel.

“I fear for our country and for everything we have. For the people. I feel ⁠so sorry for the children. So many people died today,” said Olena Kapustian, 41, standing outside with her son.

Zelensky calls for aid and effective pressure on Russia

Four people, including the child, died in Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Nine people were killed in Odesa and five in and around the southeastern city of Dnipro, where Russian attacks set residential buildings ablaze, according to regional officials. Another person was killed later in the day in a Russian attack on Sumy in the country's northeast.

Reporting from Kyiv, Emmanuelle Chaze, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Ukraine said the death toll just kept on rising. “Rescue workers are still on site, searching the rubble for survivors.”

Chaze said that the air raid alarm had sounded for several hours during the night, and that debris from intercepted drone had been falling “all over the city”.

She also said that Russia had staged at least one “double-tap” attack, meaning it had waited for first responders to arrive at a specific attack site only to strike it again. At least four medics were injured in such an attack, she said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the night had proven that Russia did not ‌deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions, with 100 people wounded alongside those killed.

“There can be no normalisation of Russia as it is today. Pressure on Russia must work. And it is important to fulfill every promise of assistance to Ukraine on time,” he said.

Moscow said it had carried out a “massive” strike on Ukraine that had hit energy targets used by Ukrainian ‌forces and cruise missile and drone production, without giving details. Kyiv’s drone forces commander said Ukrainian military struck two oil depots in Russia-occupied Crimea and infrastructure in Russia’s southern port of Tuapse.

Ukraine said its air force units shot down or neutralised 31 missiles and 636 drones, but 12 missiles and 20 drones hit in the 24 hours to 7am (0500 GMT) on Thursday.

Rescue operations were ongoing and the toll could rise, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said, while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the international community to act.

“All decisions required to increase pressure on the aggressor must be unblocked now,” he said on X. “It is immoral, counterproductive, and dangerous to delay sanctions against Russia or packages of support for Ukraine.”

Klitschko said a drone, flying very low, slammed into an 18-storey building in the capital early on Thursday. Officials put the number of injured in the city at 60.

The mayor said a mother and child had been rescued from a building in a central district. Four emergency medical workers and two police officers were hurt in the city as they attended the sites, emergency services said.

Kapustian and her son were among residents of a huge apartment block hit by a drone in Kyiv watching rescue efforts near a children’s play area littered with debris.

“My son got scared. This is the second time (the apartment block was hit).”

The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, posted a picture from a shelter. “This night was terrifying. My hands are still shaking,” she wrote.

Dnipro, Odesa under attack

Nine people were killed and dozens more wounded in the overnight strike on the southern city of Odesa, where a high-rise residential building was badly hit, officials said.

The regional governor said that port and critical infrastructure facilities in the city had also been damaged.

Serhiy ⁠Lysak, the head of the local military administration, also reported a new morning attack on the city, which hurt three people at a market.

In Dnipro, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said that four people were killed and 30 ⁠injured in an evening and overnight attack on the city; he posted pictures showing residential buildings ablaze. Another man was killed in the surrounding region, he added.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast, officials said two people had been injured in drone strikes.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)