Kyiv, Ukraine, 7 October, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Ukraine war intensified overnight as Russia launched one of its largest recent missile and drone attacks across the country, killing at least 11 people and striking residential areas, industrial facilities and critical infrastructure, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia launches powerful overnight assault across Ukraine
Russian forces attacked Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions with a combination of cruise missiles, ballistic weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 130 drones and 48 cruise missiles during the assault, alongside ballistic missiles. Ukrainian forces reported intercepting or suppressing 161 aerial targets.
Kyiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv were among the areas affected. Residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged, while residents in the capital sought protection in shelters and underground metro stations as air-raid warnings continued.
Zelenskyy said the nationwide death toll had reached at least 11. The figures remained subject to further updates as emergency teams continued searching damaged buildings.
Deadly missile strike hits residential building in Pryluky
Pryluky, in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, suffered one of the deadliest individual strikes.
Zelenskyy said five people were killed and 26 others injured, including five children, when a Russian missile struck a five-storey residential building in the city. Emergency workers continued operations at the site amid concerns that people could remain trapped beneath the wreckage.
The attack demonstrated the continuing danger to civilians far beyond the active front lines as Russia uses long-range missiles and drones against targets across Ukraine.
Moscow confirms massive strikes on Ukrainian targets
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that its forces had carried out what it described as a “massive” strike.
Moscow said high-precision weapons launched from land, sea and air, together with drones, were used against Ukrainian military-industrial targets. It identified Kyiv and the Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv regions among the areas targeted. Russia also said port and ship-repair infrastructure in the Odesa region was attacked.
Russia’s claims about individual military targets could not immediately be independently verified.
Zelenskyy had warned of major Russian attack
The assault followed an unusually direct warning from the Ukrainian president.
On 6 October, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence had obtained updated information indicating that Russia was preparing a “massive strike”. He urged residents to respond to missile alerts and said Ukraine’s Air Force and other services were preparing to defend the country within the limits of their available capabilities.
He also renewed pressure on the United States, European countries and other partners to provide additional defensive equipment.
Air defence pressure grows as strikes intensify
The latest escalation in the Ukraine war again places Ukraine’s air-defence resources under pressure. The mixture of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic weapons forces Ukrainian units to respond simultaneously to different types of aerial threats.
The attacks also carry wider implications for European governments supporting Kyiv, particularly as Ukraine seeks additional interceptor missiles and air-defence systems to protect major cities and critical infrastructure.
What happens next?
Ukrainian emergency services are continuing rescue, recovery and damage-assessment operations across affected regions.
Kyiv is expected to use the scale of the latest attack to reinforce its requests for additional Western air-defence capabilities. Zelenskyy had already said before the strikes that Ukraine’s ability to respond depended partly on international partners possessing the defensive systems the country requires.
Further official updates are expected as rescue operations continue and authorities establish the full civilian toll and infrastructure damage from the latest Russian assault.
