Kiev under attack, waves of drones and missiles on the Ukrainian capital

Witnesses quoted by the Reuters news agency reported a series of explosions and at least one large fire at a site hit by a drone. Tkachenko said that in the Darnytskyi area, on the eastern side of the capital, drones hit the upper floors of a residential building, causing a fire. Tkachenko reported possible power outages. An unofficial channel on Telegram reported that a shopping centre in the area was on fire.

Some buildings have chasms in their facades and cars destroyed by collapses at their feet.

Tkachenko added that another fire developed in a residential building in a western district. He also reported that drone fragments were spotted in three districts. Kiev is divided into districts, administrative units that are in turn divided into neighbourhoods.

But the attacks did not only hit the capital. In the northern region of Chernihiv, a Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building, shattering windows and doors; the regional governor also reported ballistic missile explosions on the outskirts of the city.

In Ternopil, in western Ukraine east of Lviv, an industrial plant was hit by missiles and drones, injuring at least five people. And now the authorities in the Ternopil region are urging people, especially children, to stay at home and keep their windows closed because of a cloud of potentially toxic substances. Images released by the media show firefighters working with water cannons to extinguish the fire, from which a dense and vast column of black smoke can be seen rising.

During the night Russian drones and missiles also struck the western city of Lutsk, north of Lviv, hitting a residential building, which partially collapsed. At least five people were injured, Ukrainian media report, citing the administration of the north-western Volyn oblast, where Lutsk is located.

The overnight attack comes just hours after US President Donald Trump declared that it might be best to let Ukraine and Russia 'fight for a while' before separating them and embarking on a path to peace. Words that marked a sudden change of tone from his frequent calls to stop a three-year-long war. Trump spoke during a meeting with Germany's new chancellor Friedrich Merz, who addressed him as the 'key person in the world' capable of stopping the bloodshed, putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 'Russia must be held responsible for this. From the first minute of this war, they hit towns and villages to destroy lives. We have done a lot together with the world to have the opportunity to defend ourselves. But now is the time when the US, the EU and everyone in the world together can stop this war by putting pressure on Russia. If someone does not put pressure and gives the war more time to reap victims, that is complicity and responsibility. We must act decisively'.

The Moscow Defence Ministry, for its part, reported that overnight Ukrainian forces launched 174 drones over several regions of Russia, including Moscow, and three Neptune missiles over the Black Sea. The ministry states that both unmanned aircraft and missiles were shot down. The regions of Bryansk, Rostov, Saratov, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan, Tula, Belgorod, Tambov and the capital were targeted.

The Defence Ministry also said that the 'massive attack' carried out on Ukraine last night with missiles and drones targeted military targets in response to Ukrainian 'terrorist attacks' in recent days. "All targets were hit," the ministry added on its Telegram channel.