'Showcase killings': Zelensky slams Russia's latest deadly strikes on Kyiv
The casualties numbers were likely to rise, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. A large part of a nine-story residential building collapsed after it was struck, he said.
Rescue teams were at the scene to search for people trapped under the rubble.
Russia fired 309 Shahed and decoy drones, and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted and jammed 288 strike drones and three missiles. Five missiles and 21 drones struck targets.
Russia's defence ministry, meanwhile, said that its forces took full control of the strategically important city of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
But a Ukraine army spokesman denied Russia's claims that it had captured Chasiv Yar.
"I always advice against considering the Russian Ministry of Defence as a source of information. They simply lie systematically, and the very approach of having us comment on their latest lies every time is wrong," Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of Forces said.
Russian and Ukrainian troops have battled for control of Chasiv Yar for nearly 18 months. It includes a hilltop from which troops can attack other key points in the region that form the backbone of Ukraine's eastern defenses.
A report on Thursday from Ukraine's Army General Staff said there were seven clashes in Chasiv Yar in the past 24 hours.
Russia's latest attacks targeted the Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy, Mykolaiv regions, with Ukraine's capital being the primary target.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday branded the latest deadly Russian strikes on Kyiv as "showcase killings".
Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles and hit residential buildings in the capital, Zelensky said.
"Today, the world once again saw Russia's response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe. New, showcase killings. That is why peace without strength is impossible," he said on social media.
He called on Ukraine's allies to follow through on defence commitments and pressure Moscow toward real negotiations.
Alerts, explosions overnight in Kyiv
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said nine children were wounded, the largest number hurt in a single night in the city since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Yurii Kravchuk, 62, stood wrapped in a blanket next to a damaged building, with a bandage around his head. He said he heard the missile alert but did not get to a shelter in time.
"I started waking up my wife and then there was an explosion ... My daughter ended up in the hospital," he said.
Emergency crews on Thursday were putting out fires and cutting through concrete blocks in search for survivors across the city.
Schools and hospitals were among the buildings that took hits across 27 locations in the city, officials said.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he's giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a shorter deadline – August 8 – for peace efforts to make progress, or Washington will impose punitive sanctions and tariffs.
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