A massive Russian strike that lasted more than 12 hours hammered large parts of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, leaving civilians dead and dozens more wounded.
“Brutal strikes, deliberate and targeted terror against ordinary cities — nearly 500 strike drones and more than 40 missiles, including ‘Kinzhal,’” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, describing the scale of the attack. He said Iranian-made Shahed drones were again seen over Ukrainian skies in the morning.
The president named Kyiv and its region, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Odessa as the main directions of the assault. In Kyiv, the attack damaged the building of the Institute of Cardiology. As of Zelensky’s post, four people had been killed in the capital — including a 12‑year‑old girl — and at least 40 people were injured across the country, among them children.
Industrial and civilian targets were hit, Zelensky said:
“A bread production enterprise, a tyre plant, private and apartment buildings and civil infrastructure objects” all came under fire. Emergency and response services, he added, were working at the scenes.
Zelensky framed the strike as a deliberate provocation coinciding with the close of the UN General Assembly:
“This vile attack came effectively as the end of UNGA week, and that is how Russia signals its real position.”
He accused Moscow of seeking to prolong the war and its campaign of terror while profiting from energy revenues and a “shadow fleet” that keeps money flowing to the Kremlin.
“Russia wants to keep fighting and killing and deserves only the harshest pressure from the world,” Zelensky wrote.
He warned Kyiv would continue to strike back “to deprive Russia of these opportunities to earn and force it into diplomacy.”
In a forceful appeal to the international community, the president urged tougher measures against Moscow.
“Anyone who wants peace must support President Trump’s efforts and stop any Russian imports,” he said, calling for a strong reaction from the United States, Europe, the G7 and the G20.
