Russia strikes Ukraine with over 800 drones; smoke seen rising from cabinet building in Kyiv

Smoke rises from the Cabinet of Ministers building after a Russian strike in Kyiv | AP

Russia on Sunday pounded Ukraine with 805 drones and decoys, the largest such attack since the war broke out in 2022. Moscow also launched 13 missiles of various types.

At least two people, including a one-year-old child, were killed and 15 others were injured in the attack. Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city administration, said the child’s body was dug out of the rubble by rescuers.

The Ukraine Air Force claimed to have shot down 747 drones and four missiles, while 56 drones and nine missiles struck various locations in the country.

Debris from shot-down drones and missiles fell on eight locations. 

A nine-story residential building in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district and a four-storey residential building in Darnytskyi district were hit by the drone debris.

The Associated Press reported that a plume of smoke was seen rising from the roof of Kyiv's cabinet of ministers building. It was not immediately clear if the smoke was the result of a direct hit by Russian drones.

Ukraine foreign minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed damage to the government building and called it a “serious escalation”.

“The greatest cynicism is that these brutal attacks come just as President Trump makes every effort to achieve peace. But instead of reciprocating these efforts and agreeing to a leaders’ meeting, Putin rejects diplomacy and escalates terror,” Sybiha said.

The Ukraine minister alleged that the Russian war machine runs on oil and gas revenues and urged the allies to defund Moscow in order to end the war.

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