Kyiv rescuers search rubble

Rescue teams continued searching collapsed rubble in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district after a Russian drone and missile barrage destroyed a Soviet‑era residential block, leaving at least 20 people missing, authorities said. Emergency services reported the building was struck during a large two‑day aerial assault that unleashed more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles across multiple cities, causing widespread damage to homes, utilities and transport infrastructure. Firefighters, medical teams and search‑and‑rescue units used heavy machinery, thermal imagers and dogs to locate survivors amid reports that several other buildings were heavily damaged and that dozens of civilians were wounded.

Officials put Kyiv hospitals on emergency alert as ambulances evacuated the injured and authorities warned casualty figures could rise while operations continue. At least 10 civilians were reported killed in the capital in the attack period, with seven bodies pulled from the rubble of a single destroyed apartment block and many more feared trapped beneath debris. Power outages, communication disruptions and fires were recorded in multiple districts as air defenses intercepted many incoming drones and missiles, though falling fragments from intercepted weapons also caused further destruction.

Ukrainian leaders condemned the strikes as deliberate attacks on populated areas and urged international partners to bolster air‑defense support; officials said the scale of the barrage—reported as the largest concentrated aerial campaign since the war began—undermines hopes for de‑escalation despite recent brief ceasefire efforts. Moscow asserts its targets are military and strategic infrastructure. The assault occurred amid renewed accusations and denials over ceasefire violations and followed diplomatic developments that briefly raised expectations of reduced hostilities; Kyiv rejects demands from Russia that would require Ukrainian withdrawal from contested eastern territory as a precondition for talks.

Humanitarian and rescue agencies cautioned that the ongoing barrage and the extensive damage to civilian infrastructure have intensified displacement and strained emergency response capacity. Authorities stressed the immediate priorities remain finding and rescuing survivors, stabilizing damaged structures to prevent further collapses and restoring critical services to affected communities as investigations and recovery work proceed.