Russia launches 'most massive aerial attack' on Ukraine since invasion began

Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 22 civilians in what a Ukrainian air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the 22-month war.

The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, said Ukraine's military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Air force Cmdr. Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was "the most massive aerial attack" since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.

Damage was reported in the capital of Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, the western city of Lviv, the southeastern port of Odesa and the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Western officials and analysts have warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter in hopes of breaking the Ukrainians' spirit.

Fighting along the front line is largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine's summer counteroffensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the roughly 1,000-kilometre line of contact.

Ukrainian officials have urged Western allies to provide it with more air defences to protect itself against aerial attacks like this most recent barrage. Their appeals have come as signs of war fatigue strain efforts to keep support in place.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the huge attack should stir the world to further action in support of Ukraine.

"These widespread attacks on Ukraine's cities show [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will stop at nothing to achieve his aim of eradicating freedom and democracy," Sunak said on X, formerly Twitter. "We must continue to stand with Ukraine — for as long as it takes."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should wake people up to Ukraine's continuing needs.

"Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions," he wrote on X. "I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world. In all major capitals, headquarters, and parliaments, which are currently debating further support for Ukraine."

At least 128 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, Ukrainian officials said. Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks and schools.

In Boyarka, a city near Kyiv, the debris of a shot-down drone fell on a home and started a fire.