At least three people, including a five-year-old child, were killed after Russia launched a massive overnight drone attack on Kyiv. On Sunday, Ukrainian officials and emergency services confirmed the attack. The assault targeted multiple residential buildings, causing fires and injuries across the city.
The drone attack came ahead of indirect ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, scheduled to be mediated by the U.S. in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Previously, both nations agreed not to attack each other’s energy security while fighting on the ground continues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his delegation would first meet with U.S. officials before technical teams discuss the details of a possible ceasefire.
Loud explosions echoed across Kyiv as air raid sirens blared for more than five hours. Russian drones, flying at low altitudes to evade Ukrainian air defences, struck residential buildings, causing deadly destruction. Kyiv City Military Administration reported that three people were killed and ten others were injured.
Two residential buildings in the Dnipro district caught fire due to falling drone debris, officials said. The top floors of a nine-story building were engulfed in flames, killing one woman, the State Emergency Service confirmed. In Podilskyi district, a fire broke out on the 20th floor of a 25-story building. Fires also erupted in a warehouse and office building in Holosiivskyi, where another person was killed.
Initially, officials reported two fatalities. However, the death toll rose when rescuers found the body of a five-year-old child in the rubble in Holosiivskyi. The child’s father was also discovered dead at the scene. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that at least seven people were injured, including an 11-month-old child. One victim required hospitalization, while others received medical treatment at the site.
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The drone attack led to widespread fires and destruction. In Dniprovskyi district, debris struck a catering facility, and the sixth floor of a 16-story apartment building sustained damage. In the Shevchenkivskyi district, two cars were damaged. A fire also broke out in a forested area in Desnianskyi.
Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko condemned the assault. “Today, the Russians are once again demonstrating their ‘desire for peace,'” he said. “In reality, terrorists are simply launching deadly weapons at residential buildings.”
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russian forces launched 147 drones across the country overnight. Ukrainian air defence managed to shoot down 97 of them. This follows a pattern of relentless aerial assaults, with 100 drones intercepted the previous day and 114 the day before that.
The attack comes less than a week after Russia announced a partial 30-day ceasefire on attacks targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia. The ceasefire was declared on March 18 after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. The attacks continue because the battle has not yet stopped on the ground through the previous ceasefire.
Ukrainian emergency teams have been dispatched to the affected sites, with authorities still assessing the full extent of the casualties and damages. The situation remains tense as Kyiv prepares for upcoming negotiations, though Russian attacks continue to undermine hopes for peace.
