A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least eight people and injured over 80, including children. Several districts were hit, causing fires and significant damage. Two people were also injured in Kharkiv. The attack followed U.S. President Trump’s criticism of Zelensky, and Ukraine's officials reaffirmed their refusal to cede occupied territories for peace. Rescue efforts continue, while Russia claims to have intercepted 87 Ukrainian drones.

At least eight people have lost their lives and over 80 others, including children, have been injured in an overnight Russian missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, local officials have reported. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, falling debris from drones caused several fires, and there were fears that people might have become trapped beneath the rubble of a residential building.

Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, a city located in the northeastern part of Ukraine, where at least two individuals were injured, as stated by the mayor. In the aftermath of the attacks, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he would cut short a diplomatic visit to South Africa to address the crisis.

Initially, Ukraine's state emergency service DSNS and the interior ministry reported that nine people had died in Kyiv during the overnight assault, which involved approximately 70 missiles and up to 150 drones. However, Ukraine's interior minister later revised the death toll to eight, clarifying that the ninth fatality was likely a result of body parts from other victims.

Mayor Klitschko shared on social media that six children and a pregnant woman were among the injured. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko also revealed that phone calls could be heard coming from the wreckage, and two children were reported as missing. During the attack, an apartment block was completely destroyed, and nearby buildings suffered significant damage, including shattered windows and balconies ripped off. Emergency teams, including rescue dogs, continue to search through the debris in an effort to rescue survivors.

The western Svyatoshynskyi district was the hardest hit in the overnight assault, according to Klitschko. Kyiv officials reported that five other districts were affected, including Holosiivskyi in the south, Solomyanskyi in the southwest, and Shevchenkivskyi in the west. Social media footage appeared to show missiles hitting the city, sparking massive fires.

These strikes came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump accused President Zelensky of hindering peace negotiations. Zelensky has consistently rejected the idea of recognizing Russian control of Crimea, a southern Ukrainian peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory. Trump claimed that Crimea "was lost years ago," but Zelensky pointed to a 2018 "Crimea declaration" made by Trump's former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, which stated that the U.S. "rejects Russia’s attempted annexation."

A woman whose apartment was heavily damaged in the recent Kyiv attack told the BBC that she had fled her hometown in eastern Ukraine, now occupied by Russia, twice due to the war. When asked whether Zelensky should cede those territories to secure a peace agreement, she firmly rejected the idea, stating that it would be "against our constitution."

Thursday’s attack is among the deadliest on Kyiv since July 8, 2024, when Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure, including the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, resulted in 34 deaths and 121 injuries.

In Kharkiv, located around 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Russian border, Mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed that two people had been injured in the missile and drone strikes, which also damaged several private homes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the overnight attacks highlighted Russia, rather than Ukraine, as the primary obstacle to peace, accusing Putin of disregarding peace efforts and being intent on continuing the war. Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to visit Moscow this week following Trump’s assertion that a peace deal is "very close." U.S. Vice-President JD Vance has mentioned that Washington’s plan includes a proposal to freeze the front lines of the conflict "at some level close to where they are today."

However, Kyiv has warned that it cannot accept a "frozen conflict." Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized that a full ceasefire is the "necessary first step" toward peace. Ukraine’s air force has also warned that nearly all regions of the country remain under the threat of airstrikes.

The Russian military has not made any official comments regarding the reported attacks. However, in a social media post, the Russian defense ministry claimed that 87 Ukrainian drones had been either destroyed or intercepted overnight over several Russian regions.