Russia kills at least 14 in Kyiv in second-largest barrage of war, Ukraine says

Russian missiles and drones ripped through apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least 14 people, including three children, and wounding 48, in an attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky said showed Moscow’s rejection of peace negotiations.

It was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as US-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Ukraine’s air force said Moscow fired 629 drones and missiles. It was the second-largest of any overnight barrage, according to AFP analysis of Kyiv’s data.

The attack blasted a five-story crater in one apartment block, ripping the building in two.

Among the dead were three children ages 2, 14 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble.

AFP reporters saw rescuers carrying victims away in body bags as they sifted through the smoldering rubble.

Heavy construction machinery was deployed to scoop up mounds of debris. Officials warned that several people were believed to be still trapped under the collapsed building.

Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tkachenko.

At least 20 locations across seven districts of Kyiv had impacts. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center, and thousands of windows were shattered, he said.

“Glass was flying… we were screaming when the bombs went off,” Galina Shcherbak, who was at a parking lot close to one of the strike hits, told AFP.

“They’re just bombing residential buildings. What kind of target is there in the center of Kyiv?” said Valery Savenko, whose apartment was damaged in the strike.

Emergency responders searched for survivors and pulled bodies from the destruction. Crowds of residents stood nearby waiting for relatives to retrieved from the rubble, including a man who was waiting for information about his wife and son. Bodies in black bags were placed to the side of the building.

At least 10 people were known to be missing by the afternoon, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service.

It was not the first time the district was targeted, neighborhood residents said.

Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.

“It’s inhuman, striking civilians,” he said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.”

Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and requiring trains to use alternative routes.

Ukraine said it had hit two large refineries in Russia in its own overnight attacks — strikes it calls fair retaliation.

Russia’s defense ministry said it had downed 102 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Diplomacy ruined

Giving the latest toll, Zelensky called the attack “a horrific and deliberate killing of civilians. The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes.”

“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” he said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”

Moscow had fired ballistic and cruise missiles as well as Iranian-designed Shahed drones from different directions to “systematically” target residential buildings, he said.

“This means that Russia still does not fear the consequences,” he added in a social media post.

Zelensky called for a tough response from Ukraine’s allies, including fresh sanctions.

As of now, already 14 people are known to have been killed as a result of the Russian attack, including 3 children. A horrific and deliberate killing of civilians.

The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes. Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were… https://t.co/KRofKo2jZm

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 28, 2025

“For the spurning of ceasefire and for the constant Russian attempts to weasel out of negotiations, new strong sanctions are needed,” he added, calling on Russia’s ally China and EU member Hungary to take a much tougher stance against Moscow.

“All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined. Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war,” he said.

The overnight barrage also hit the European Union mission’s building, EU Council chief Antonio Costa said on X, attaching a photo from inside the office with the windows blown out, ceiling partially hanging down and debris scattered on the floor. Staff were not harmed, EU President Ursula von der Leyen said.

“Russia must stop its indiscriminatory attacks on civilian infrastructure immediately and join negotiations for a just and lasting peace,” she said in a post on X.

The attacks came a day after the Kremlin rejected the chances of a swift meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin had met with US President Donald Trump earlier this month in a landmark meeting in Alaska, where the two discussed conditions for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Kyiv says a summit is crucial to breaking the deadlock over how to end the war.

Moscow is demanding Kyiv cede more territory and renounce Western military support as conditions for any peace deal — ultimatums ruled out by Kyiv.

On Wednesday, Putin’s spokesman said Russia viewed the idea of a European peacekeeping force — seen by Kyiv as vital to deterring a future Russian attack — “negatively.”

Putin has rejected multiple ceasefire calls from Zelensky, Trump and European leaders, and Ukraine has long cast Russia as paying only lip-service to the idea of halting its invasion.

Russian forces have been slowly but steadily gaining ground on the battlefield, where they hold an advantage in manpower and weapons.

Before concluding any peace agreement, Ukraine wants security guarantees from the West to deter any future Russian attacks — something Moscow has pushed back against.