Massive Russian Attack Kills 18 People Across Ukraine, Officials Say, As Moscow Escalates Fighting

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and different Ukrainian cities overnight, sidesplitting astatine slightest 18 civilians and wounding 131 others, authorities said Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated Moscow’s aerial run successful caller weeks successful an evident bid to return advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of U.S.-made aerial defense systems and seduce an progressively pessimistic assemblage astatine location that Moscow is prevailing successful nan 4-year-old war.

Emergency rescue crews digging done nan wreckage of flat buildings pulled retired nan bodies of a 3-year-old kid arsenic good arsenic those of a female and her 8-year-old boy successful nan cardinal Ukrainian metropolis of Dnipro, officials said.

The onslaught stretched past dawn, pinch explosions reverberating crossed cities. Officials said 12 group were killed successful Dnipro and six successful Kyiv.

Residents of nan superior person been connected separator for days aft Russia warned past week that a monolithic aerial onslaught was coming and told overseas diplomats to leave. None appeared to heed nan telephone and nary embassies instantly reported harm Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for much U.S. and European support, describing nan monolithic overnight onslaught arsenic “an definitive connection by Russia: If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic missiles and different rocket strikes, those strikes will continue.”

Putin has stepped up his aerial run against Ukraine, pinch Russian forces precocious launching different of their powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s shortage of aerial defense systems, successful portion because of depleted U.S. stocks from nan Iran war, has near civilians particularly susceptible to ballistic missiles, moreover arsenic Kyiv’s defenses extremity astir of Moscow’s drones.

Kyiv mother and girl shelter successful a bathtub

At slightest 79 group were wounded successful nan capital, emergency services said. Iryna Salikova, 37, spent nan nighttime lying successful a bathtub for protection pinch her 3-year-old daughter, arsenic blasts reverberated crossed nan city.

“Our model was broken. A cobblestone flew into nan children’s room,” Salikova said, though they weren’t hurt. “Thank God we’re alive. Today we’re alive, coming we’re lucky.”

Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones crossed Ukraine, according to nan country’s aerial force, pinch nan main targets including Kyiv, Dnipro and nan eastbound cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian aerial defense forces destroyed aliases suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.

Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov proclaimed Wednesday would beryllium a time of mourning for nan 12 dormant successful his city. That announcement came 20 minutes earlier Filatov said different drone had struck a residential building location astir 2:40 p.m.

Putin seeks to alteration nan communicative of nan war

Putin is keen to make immoderate affirmative news from nan conflict that began pinch Russia’s February 2022 penetration of its neighbour and hasn’t gone according to plan.

Western officials and analysts opportunity Ukrainian drones are pinning down Russian troops connected nan beforehand line, choking Russian proviso lines successful occupied regions of Ukraine and disrupting lipid accommodation heavy wrong Russia that supply captious gross for Moscow. That has made nan war, which Moscow refers to arsenic a “special subject operation,” much visible to Russians and accrued unit connected Putin.

U.S.-led bid efforts person fizzled retired arsenic nan sides made nary advancement connected cardinal differences and aft nan warfare successful Iran grabbed Washington’s attention. Zelensky accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by President Trump but Putin refused.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said successful a connection that Tuesday’s bombardment struck military-industrial accommodation successful nan Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions.

Ukraine said residential, power and civilian infrastructure was deed but did not corroborate aliases remark connected harm to immoderate military-related sites.

Putin signaled that Russia won’t fto up its attacks. He said Tuesday that Ukraine’s May 22 drone onslaught connected a assemblage dormitory successful Starobilsk successful nan Russia-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine that killed 21 had fixed nan warfare “a full caller dimension.”

Ukraine said nan onslaught successful Starobilsk deed a Russian drone aviator training center.

Man hurled from Kyiv flat by blast

Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded successful astatine slightest 38 locations crossed Ukraine, according to location authorities. Debris from destroyed drones fell connected 15 locations, nan aerial unit said.

At slightest 4 group were killed successful Kyiv and 79 group were injured, including 3 children, Ukraine’s authorities emergency work said. Residential buildings and different civilian infrastructure were damaged successful 8 Kyiv districts.

Olena Dniprovska, 65, and her hubby Yevhen, 64, were wounded successful their flat successful Kyiv’s Podilskyi district.

“I went retired into nan corridor pinch nan phone, and earlier I understood what happened, everything fell connected my head, nan glass, and nan doorway blew off,” said Dniprovska, dried humor streaked crossed her look and a bandage connected her chin. “I ran retired into nan beforehand doorway and started calling my hubby from nan room, but he was besides blown retired by nan blast wave.”

“Now I person obscurity to live, nan flat is wholly destroyed, nary doors, nary windows, nary balcony. You tin measurement consecutive from nan room retired onto nan street,” she said.

In Kharkiv, astatine slightest 19 group were wounded successful residential areas successful nan past 2 days — including 11 connected Tuesday, burying immoderate residents successful nan rubble.

Kullab and Stepanenko constitute for nan Associated Press. AP writers Illia Novikov successful Kyiv, Katie Marie Davies successful Manchester, England, and Barry Hatton successful Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this report.