The assault left residential neighbourhoods in ruins and plunged the Ukrainian capital once again into grief and shock.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed the death toll, warning that it could rise as rescuers continued to search for survivors beneath the rubble. Emergency crews spent hours digging through debris in several districts, pulling out the wounded and carrying away bodies as smoke and dust filled the air.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's city administration, described the scale of destruction as devastating. In the Darnytskyi district, a five-storey apartment block was almost completely destroyed, while windows and roofs were blown out across entire neighbourhoods.
'Everything is destroyed,' Tkachenko said, capturing the despair of residents who watched their homes collapse.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a calculated effort to terrorise civilians and break the country's spirit.
'These are not just attacks on buildings, they are attempts to sow fear and destroy our will,' he said. Zelenskyy urged the international community to respond with stronger measures, stressing, 'The world must force Russia to take real steps toward peace. Silence and hesitation only encourage more violence.'
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as sirens blared and explosions ripped through the capital. A mother who survived the strikes said she shielded her child in a corridor just moments before the blast shattered their apartment.
'The glass flew everywhere. If we had stayed in the room, we would not be alive,' she recalled tearfully.
Ukraine's military reported intercepting many of the missiles and drones, but said Russia's use of combined drone swarms and missile barrages was designed to overwhelm defences. Despite successes, several projectiles penetrated the shield and slammed into residential areas.
The attack comes days before Ukrainian officials are due to meet U.S. representatives in New York, where Kyiv will push for renewed military and diplomatic support. Zelenskyy voiced frustration at Moscow's continued intransigence, saying Russia was sending 'arrogant and negative signals' instead of seeking genuine dialogue.
As night fell, rescue teams continued working under floodlights, while families huddled in shelters, fearing more strikes. The scenes of destroyed apartment blocks, burned-out cars, and children wrapped in blankets outside emergency centres underscored the human cost of a war that has already dragged on for more than three years.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/russian-strike-on-kyiv-leaves-eight-dead-dozens-injured
