Russia launched an overnight strike that lasted more than 12 hours from Saturday into Sunday, targeting various regions across Ukraine. The strikes, described as “savage” and “vile,” killed at least four people, wounded dozens of others and destroyed critical civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv.
‘Deliberate, targeted terror’
Roughly 595 drones and 48 missiles pummeled Ukraine’s airspace between the midnight hours of Saturday and early morning Sunday, resulting in widespread damage and casualties. Among the dead was a 12-year-old girl in Kyiv.
In a post to X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the assault as “savage” and “vile,” and accused Moscow of “deliberate, targeted terror against ordinary cities.” While Kyiv suffered the worst of the damage, another six regions were targeted, including Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Odesa.
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At least four people were killed, including a 12-year-old girl in Kyiv and a 59-year-old man in Sumy, according to reports. In Zaporizhzhia alone, 34 people were injured. Two boys, one of whom was caught in an explosion and the other suffering carbon monoxide poisoning, are in serious condition.
Civilian infrastructure also came under fire during the attack. A building belonging to Kyiv’s Cardiology Institute was damaged, as well as a bakery, tire manufacturing plant and several residential buildings.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko accused Russia of perpetuating a “genocide” against the Ukrainian people.
“It’s one more example (of) genocide from the Russian Federation against Ukraine, against the capital of Ukraine, to kill peaceful people, to destroy peaceful districts in our hometown,” Klitschko said.
Russia has routinely denied that it targets civilians or civilian infrastructure during its offenses.
UN General Assembly comes to a close
While large-scale Russian airstrikes are common over the weekend, Sunday morning’s bombardment was significant, as it came at the end of a week-long United Nations General Assembly summit in New York.
“This vile attack came virtually as the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world.”
The U.N. summit saw a policy shift from U.S. President Donald Trump, who acknowledged for the first time Ukraine’s right to reclaim land that has been illegally seized by Russia since it invaded the country in February 2022. Trump attributed the change of policy to “getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation.”
In response, the Kremlin stated that such an idea is “deeply mistaken,” and that its invasion was “not an aimless war.” It added that normalizing relations with Washington were progressing much more slowly than it had hoped.
Russia’s NATO airspace incursions
Meanwhile, Moscow’s military has also been pushing the limits in NATO airspace. Throughout September, Russian fighter jets have been spotted flying over Poland, Estonia and Romania. The size and breadth of Sunday’s attack forced Poland to again scramble some of its jets.
The incursions prompted Trump to say that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. He offered no qualifiers, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said any shoot-down should follow an assessment of intent, armaments and risk.
During his speech at the U.N. Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that military threats against Russia are “becoming more frequent, prompted by unproven accusations that Russia is planning to attack NATO and the European Union.”
Lavrov added that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “debunked” accusations that Russia plans on widening its war outside of Ukraine’s borders. He maintained that Moscow “has not had and does not have any such intentions.”
“However,” Lavrov clarified, “any aggression against my country will receive a decisive response.”
