Kyiv comes under heavy Russian attack; apartment building hit, multiple fires reported

Russia launched a major overnight attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, injuring at least four people and causing significant damage to a high-rise residential building, according to Ukrainian officials and witnesses.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a suspected missile strike hit a 24-storey apartment block, triggering a partial collapse and raising fears that people could be trapped beneath the rubble. Preliminary reports indicated that at least four people were injured.

The attack also sparked multiple fires across the capital. In Kyiv’s Podil district, a blaze broke out on the grounds of a non-residential property, while debris believed to be from intercepted missiles ignited the roof of a nine-storey apartment building.

“In the Obolon district, cars are burning after being struck by falling missile debris. Fires have also been reported at two open-area locations, including one near a kindergarten,” Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

Air raid sirens sent thousands of Kyiv residents rushing to metro stations and bomb shelters across the city.

The attack came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a potential large-scale Russian strike, urging citizens to remain vigilant and respond promptly to air raid alerts.

“Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike is possible; they have prepared one,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday. “Our defenders are ready around the clock to the fullest extent possible with the resources available.”

Last week, Russia warned it would carry out “systematic strikes” against military-linked targets and decision-making centres in Kyiv, while advising foreign nationals to leave the city. Moscow said the planned retaliation was linked to a drone attack on a dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that killed 21 people. Ukraine has denied responsibility for that strike.

Elsewhere, in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that overnight Russian shelling wounded at least six people, including an 11-year-old girl.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claims from either side.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the war, while Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on oil and energy facilities inside Russia. Both countries deny deliberately targeting civilians.

The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has now entered its fifth year. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have made limited headway, with the administration of US President Donald Trump increasingly focused on crises in the Middle East.