Russia carried out a major drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv last night. According to local authorities, at least seventeen people were killed. Dozens more people have been injured, including children.

The attacks hit apartment buildings and set fire to a hotel. A nine-storey apartment building collapsed in the north of the city. There may still be people there under the rubble.

Damage has been reported in dozens of places in the city. The attack started last night and lasted until early this morning. Many residents of the Ukrainian capital spent the night in metro stations, taking shelter from the bombings.

Explosions have also been reported in other Ukrainian cities, such as Zaporizhia and Pavlohrad in the southeast and Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast. Three people were injured in Zaporizhia, the governor reported. According to the Ukrainian air force, 74 missiles and almost 500 drones were used in the Russian attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry says military installations and energy facilities have been hit, although it appears mainly civilian objects have been hit. According to the Russians, the attack was in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks in Russia. Last night, more than 300 Ukrainian drones were again taken down, according to Russian media.

Recently, Ukraine has been carrying out air strikes deep in Russia, including on military infrastructure and oil installations. Kyiv is also trying to isolate the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has annexed, by attacking its connections to the Russian mainland. This has caused a major fuel shortage in the region.

President Zelensky warned yesterday based on intelligence that a major attack on his country was imminent. At an EU meeting in Dublin, he said that Russian President Putin “has been preparing this massive attack on Ukraine for some time.”

Due to the Russian attacks, Poland sent fighter planes into the air last night as a precaution to guard its own airspace. By early morning, the military reported that the operation had ended and that no missiles or drones had been recorded over Poland.