Russia hits Kyiv with massive air attack, biggest of war so far – ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city terrorised in nine-minute drone salvo
At least 17 Shahed-type drones were launched at the city, which lies just 30 kilometres from the Russian border. Residents did not know whether to stay put or run out to the streets. In one five-storey building, fires broke out in 15 apartments, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Homes, playgrounds, public transport, and key infrastructure were also struck. Russia appeared to be using a new high-altitude dive-bombing tactic, official said. There are fears for the many people still trapped under rubble in the aftermath of the attack, officials said. The attack left municipal workers and volunteers to extinguish fires and rescue residents from burning homes. The assault sparked fires in 15 units of an apartment block in Kharkiv’s Osnovianskyi district, the city’s mayor said. A 15-year-old girl and a boy and a woman were among the injured, including a two-year old girl and two men in their 20s. The drone strike left a dog evacuated from a fourth-floor apartment burnt to the ground.
Over the next nine minutes, there would be no pause.
The intense overnight assault killed at least six people and wounded 60 others, including children, Ukrainian authorities said.
The attack hit residential buildings across Kharkiv. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Olena Khoruzheva raced to the hallway with her two children as soon as they heard the drones approaching.
They tried to get as far away as possible from the windows.
Her youngest son lay on the floor with his hands over his head.
“I was on top of him,” the 41-year-old pharmacist told AFP.
” We heard it approaching, silence, and then we were thrown against the wall. ”
The assault sparked fires in 15 units of a five-storey apartment block. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
That was just the beginning.
Eleven sites were hit within minutes, including three residential buildings, according to Kharkiv’s regional governor.
“There were more explosions, then we heard people shouting, ‘Help! Help!’ Ms Khoruzheva said.
Her 65-year-old neighbour was one of those killed in the attack.
Police officers and volunteers carry a person evacuated from an apartment building. (Reuters: Vitalii Hnidyi)
Authorities say at least 17 Shahed-type drones were launched at the city, which lies just 30 kilometres from the Russian border.
The Osnovianskyi and Slobidskyi districts took direct hits.
As the 3.5-metre-long and 2.5-metre-wide drones came hurtling towards buildings, residents did not know whether to stay put or run out to the streets.
The barrage seemed never-ending.
An emergency worker assists a woman who evacuated her home during the strikes. (State Emergency Services of Ukraine via Reuters)
“We were very scared because there were many, many of them [Shahed drones],” resident Olha Kravets said.
“We thought that this could happen, but we did not expect our house to be hit.
” As soon as it struck, we panicked, we didn’t know what to do, where to go, because it was still flying. ”
Cars, homes and infrastructure were damaged in the strikes. (AP: Andrii Marienko)
In one five-storey building, fires broke out in 15 apartments, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Private homes, playgrounds, public transport, and key infrastructure were also struck.
Several cars were damaged by debris.
A paramedic provides first aid to a man injured at the site of a damaged apartment building. (Reuters: Vitalii Hnidyi)
Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov warned that it appeared Russia was using a new high-altitude dive-bombing tactic.
He said the drones had significantly increased their altitude, flying high above targets then sharply dropping before impact.
“Russian forces have changed tactic — they’re now launching drones at 4,000 to 5,000 metres,” he wrote on Telegram.
The tactic made it increasingly difficult for Ukrainian air defences to respond.
A firefighter works inside a Kharkiv apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike. (Reuters: Vitalii Hnidyi)
Vitalii Holovin’s apartment was destroyed.
His home was engulfed in smoke, leaving him with no choice but to flee, leaving behind all his belongings.
“I didn’t have a chance to take any documents or money,” he said.
“There was a fire. I felt the smoke, I got out … It was impossible to stay in smoke and look for something.”
His neighbour saved a dog from another apartment.
“The dog got burnt,” she said.
” We carried it from the fourth floor. ”
A resident holds a dog evacuated from an apartment building.
The devastating nine-minute drone strike left carnage in the streets.
Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires and rescue residents from burning homes.
Regions were left without gas, water and electricity.
Dozens of the injured were hospitalised, including a two-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, Mr Syniehubov said.
There are fears for the many people still trapped under rubble.
Rescuers help free a man trapped under rubble in the aftermath of the attack. (State Emergency Service Of Ukraine via Reuters)
Kharkiv withstood Russia’s full-scale advance in the early days of the war. However, it has since been a regular target of drone, missile and guided aerial bomb assaults.
“Every new day now brings new cowardly strikes from Russia, and almost every strike is demonstrative,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
“Russia deserves increased pressure.”
There was no immediate comment from Russia on the overnight attacks.
The Kharkiv attack followed Russia this week carrying out its two biggest air assaults of the war so far.
It launched almost 500 drones on Monday and 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired 85 drones across Ukraine overnight, 40 of which were shot down.
The attacks are part of intensified bombardments that Moscow says are retaliatory measures for Kyiv’s recent attacks in Russia.
ABC/wires
What we know about Ukraine’s ‘Spider’s Web’ drone attack on Russia’s air bases
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the “absolutely brilliant” strike and said 117 drones were used to attack Russian bases. The drones were reportedly smuggled in via wooden houses. First-person view (FPV) drones were smuggled into Russia via trucks, where they were then placed into mobile wooden kit houses. A senior US defence official told AP that the US was not given notification before the attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry said air bases across five regions were believed to have been targeted. It said attacks in the airfields of Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur were repelled. The attack in the Irkutsk region marks the first time Ukraine has launched a drone assault so far from the front lines. Aviation experts have labelled it a “black day” for Russia’s war efforts. Ukrainian expert Roman Valeriy says war analysts will be able to look at the targeted aircraft at Kyiv’s airfields. He says the Russian aircraft will be “very hard to replace”
In hitting more than 40 nuclear-capable long-range bombers in an “extremely complex” drone attack, Ukraine’s security services say they have destroyed 34 per cent of Russia’s fleet of air missile carriers.
But how did the ambush happen, and how has Russia responded?
Here’s what we know so far.
Ukraine launches drone attack on Russian bombers
Ukrainian security officials told news agencies on Sunday, local time, that Kyiv’s military had hit 41 Russian warplanes across several key air bases.
The ABC has not independently verified the Ukrainian claims.
“SBU drones have hit more than 40 aircraft, including A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3, causing damage of over $2 billion,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff posted on Telegram.
The Security Service of Ukraine later increased that figure to $US7 billion ($10.9 billion).
Ukraine released images said to show the drones used in the attack on Russian air bases. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the “absolutely brilliant” strike and said 117 drones were used to attack Russian bases.
“Russia has had very tangible losses, and justifiably so,” he said.
He also hinted at the details behind Ukraine’s “longest-range operation” so far.
How did Ukraine pull off the drone attack?
Mr Zelenskyy said it was an operation that took more than a year and a half to prepare.
And in what appeared to be a comment on Ukraine’s allies, he said it led to an outcome “produced by Ukraine independently”.
A senior US defence official told AP that the US was not given notification before the attack.
The drones were reportedly smuggled in via wooden houses. (Reuters)
Military sources revealed to news agencies it was an “extremely complex” operation, dubbed “Spider’s Web”, that involved smuggling drones into enemy territory.
According to AP, first-person view (FPV) drones were smuggled into Russia via trucks, where they were then placed into mobile wooden kit houses.
“At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers,” the security source told AP.
The drones (not to scale) were launched from kit homes loaded onto trucks. (ABC News: Lindsay Dunbar)
Retired Major-General Gus McLachlan says Ukraine’s “innovation” is something Western military planners should look to.
“Their ability to find innovative ways and adapt these new technologies at very low cost is extraordinary,” he told ABC News Channel.
“We think these drones probably cost about $4,000 each.
“I’m sure there was significant costs in setting up these kit homes with retractable roofs, et cetera, but in real terms we’re destroying billions of dollars worth of aircraft.”
He said there’s no doubt the Russian aircraft will be “very hard to replace”.
“At very low cost, with extraordinary innovation and adoption of frankly commercial technology, we’ve seen the destruction of a high proportion of Russia’s ability to do deep strikes.”
Loading…
Where did the Ukrainian drone attack in Russia happen?
The drones, clearly targeting prized strategic assets, attacked Russian bases as far north as Siberia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air bases across five regions were believed to have been targeted.
These are the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions.
It said attacks in the airfields of Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur were repelled.
“In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire,” Russia’s defence ministry added.
Ukrainian SBU officials look over plans for the drone attack. (Supplied: SBU/Telegram )
The ministry said the fires were extinguished and no casualties were reported.
Some individuals involved in the attacks were detained, it added.
The attack in the Irkutsk region marks the first time Ukraine has launched a drone assault so far from the front lines, which were more than 4,300 kilometres away.
Among the aircraft Kyiv targeted were Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.
What has Russia said?
We’re yet to hear from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But already, aviation experts have labelled it a “black day” for Russia’s war efforts.
Loading…
Ukrainian expert Valeriy Romanenko says war analysts will be able to look at the extent of the damage with satellite images.
“Then we will be able to assess the results of this strike and determine how painful this attack was for the Russians,” he told Reuters.
” But it is already clear that today was a black day for Russian aviation. ”
Mr Romanenko also noted that it was a “powerful strike on huge strategic bomber planes” made by “tiny, cheap drones”.
“Every type of military equipment has its weak spots,” he added.
“For planes, the weak spots are the fuel tanks.
“If a drone lands on top of a fuel tank and a tiny cumulative charge explodes and pierces the tank, we would see what we saw today in Olenegorsk and Belaya.”
Loading…
What happens now?
Russia and Ukraine are set to head to Türkiye for more peace talks.
Russia confirms planes hit by Ukrainian attack on military airfields Photo shows A still image from a video showing a large Russian plane exploding on an airfield. It came on the same day Russia launched 472 drones at targets inside Ukraine, the largest such attack of the war so far.
Russia also says it has received Ukraine’s draft memorandum for a peace accord, according to Russian news agencies citing Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky.
In a statement on Telegram, Mr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would lead Kyiv’s delegation on Monday, local time.
“We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” he said.
ABC/wires
Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is ‘playing with fire’ over Ukraine
Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire” by refusing to engage in talks about a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. The US president has become increasingly frustrated with his Russian counterpart. He took to Truth Social to lash out at him for the second time this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was ready for further peace talks in any format. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany, France, the US and the UK had removed the range restrictions they were previously placing on missile weapons they were sending to Kyiv for its fight against Russia. He also said he will attend the next G7 summit after being invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. The Kremlin has said it cannot estimate how long drafting the memorandum will take, and that it was still working on it on Tuesday. The Russian president said after a two-hour call with Mr Trump last week that Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord.
The US president has become increasingly frustrated with his Russian counterpart. On Tuesday, local time, he took to Truth Social to lash out at him for the second time this week.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened in Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire,” he wrote.
Trump slams ‘absolutely crazy’ Putin after Russian strikes on Kyiv Photo shows Donald Trump wearing a blue suit and white MAGA hat, standing in front of Air Force One and multiple microphones The US President launches a new tirade against Russian President Vladimir Putin over massive drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, saying he is “needlessly killing a lot of people”.
Mr Trump did not elaborate on what he meant, and Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the criticism from the US president.
“Regarding Trump’s words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!” Mr Medvedev posted on X.
On Sunday, Mr Trump said Mr Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” by unleashing a massive aerial attack on Ukraine.
The Russian president said after a two-hour call with Mr Trump last week that Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a future peace accord.
The Russian leader said part of this work would be defining a possible ceasefire, including its time frame.
Ukraine, its European allies and the US have all urged Russia to accept an immediate, unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.
The Kremlin has said it cannot estimate how long drafting the memorandum will take. It said on Tuesday it was still working on it.
Loading…
Ukraine open to further talks
Ukraine and Russia swapped 1,000 captives each after a meeting of the two countries’ delegations in Istanbul nearly two weeks ago, which failed to produce a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was ready for further peace talks in any format.
He said he expected the next round to be at a technical level, but said he would be ready for a three-way meeting with Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
He said he did not want the United States to leave the Ukraine peace process, as Washington has threatened to do if progress is not made.
Mr Zelenskyy said he viewed Türkiye, the Vatican and Switzerland as the most realistic venues for further negotiations with Russia.
He said interest in hosting talks had also been expressed by Malta, as well as unspecified African countries.
Reuters previously reported that Moscow does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for talks.
Loading…
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia had signalled that it wanted talks to take place in Belarus, a suggestion Kyiv regarded as impossible given Russian troops used the country as a launch pad to invade Ukraine.
He also said he will attend the next G7 summit after being invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.
He added that he will likely take part in the next EU summit.
Speaking about Ukraine’s domestic arms production, Mr Zelenskyy said he wanted $US30 billion for Ukraine this year to fully fund the available capacity of the rapidly expanding sector.
Ukrainian allies lift range limits on missiles
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany, France, the US and the UK had removed the range restrictions they were previously placing on missile weapons they were sending to Kyiv for its fight against Russia.
Mr Merz, who took office early this month, also vowed that “we will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine, including militarily”, in close coordination with other supporters.
“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine — neither by the British nor by the French nor by us, nor by the Americans,” he said.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia … With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”
Mr Merz did not specify at which stage which country, including his own, had decided on any changes, sparking some confusion.
Friedrich Merz said the removal of missile range restrictions meant Ukraine could better defend itself. (Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)
The Kremlin said in response to Mr Merz’s comments that any Western decision to lift range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine would be “dangerous”.
“If these decisions have indeed been made, they are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political [peace] settlement,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
“These are quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made.”
Russia advances in Sumy
Kyiv has suffered another battlefield setback, with Russian forces capturing four villages in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region.
The Russian advances follow some of the biggest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since Russia began the full-scale war in early 2022.
Ukraine has also fired dozens of long-range drones into Russia in recent days, forcing some Moscow airports to close temporarily.
Russia has massed more than 50,000 troops, including some of its best forces, near Sumy, but Kyiv has taken steps to prevent them from conducting a large-scale offensive, Mr Zelenskyy said.
The build-up comes as Russia appears to be gearing up for a summer offensive in Ukraine while Kyiv waits for Moscow to present a memorandum laying out its conditions to proceed with ceasefire talks.
Sumy lies across the border from Russia’s Kursk region where Ukraine previously seized and held a pocket of land for months, before being almost fully pushed out last month, although it says it still holds some small areas there.
“Their largest, strongest forces are currently on the Kursk front,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“To push our troops out of the Kursk region and to prepare offensive actions against the Sumy region.”
Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote on Facebook that Russia had occupied the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka, although residents had long been evacuated.
Ukrainian soldiers have been undertaking training missions in the region. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine’s 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
“The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called ‘buffer zone’,” Mr Hryhorov said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had taken the nearby village of Bilovody, implying a further advance in the more than three-year war.
Ukrainian officials have said for weeks that Russian troops are trying to make inroads into Sumy region, the main city of which lies less than 30 kilometres from the border.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s border guard service said Russian forces attacking in small groups on motorcycles and supported by drones had been widening the area where they have been carrying out assaults.
Reuters/AP