President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported the news on social media.
According to Zelenskiy, Russia launched a massive overnight strike on Ukraine, using nearly 300 attack drones—mostly Shahed types—and around 70 missiles of various kinds, including ballistic missiles. Targets included Kyiv and its region, as well as Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy regions.
Zelenskiy said the strikes deliberately targeted ordinary Ukrainian cities. Residential buildings were destroyed or damaged. In Kyiv, dormitories of the university’s history faculty were hit. Industrial facilities were also struck. Tragically, civilians were killed, including children. The president expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
Rescue workers have been deployed in over 30 towns and villages to deal with the aftermath of the attack, and response efforts are ongoing. Zelenskiy thanked the emergency services for their swift assistance to those affected.
The president stressed that every such Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions. He urged the international community not to remain silent, warning that silence—especially from the United States—only encourages Vladimir Putin.
“Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality will not stop. Sanctions will definitely help,” Zelenskiy said, emphasizing that only decisive global action can force Putin to think not about launching more missiles, but about ending the war.