Russia launches ‘most massive aerial attack’ of Ukraine war, Kyiv says

Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets Friday in what officials said was the “most massive aerial attack” yet in the nearly two-year-old war.

The Associated Press reported the strikes killed at least 24 civilians across the country. Casualties have been reported in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Odesa, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted and destroyed 114 of the 158 missiles and drones that Russia shot into the country overnight.

According to Air Force Cmdr. Mykola Oleschuk, it was the “most massive aerial attack” since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“Thank you all for your hard work! Many lives have been saved! But there are also losses,” Oleschuk wrote on his official Telegram channel. “Condolences to the families of the vicitms!”

The previous largest attack from Russia was in November 2022, when 96 missiles were launched against Ukraine. On March 9, 81 missiles were launched, according to air force records, the AP reported.

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat announced on air that an attack of this scale has not been seen “for a long time.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky posted online that among the buildings damaged in the strikes were a maternity ward, educational facilities, a shopping mall, multi-story residential buildings, private homes and commercial storage.

“Today Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Zelensky said services are working to provide necessary aid and the Ukrainian military will “surely respond to terrorist strikes.”

The strikes come as fighting has slowed to a near-standstill before winter and both sides suffer the effects of a long and costly conflict, The Hill previously reported.

Ukraine has continued to push the United States for additional military aid that it says is critical for its defense in the war that nears the two-year mark. Zelensky failed to convince Congress to pass an aid bill before both chambers adjourned for a holiday break.

Congress is expected to restart negotiations over a package that combines aid for the United States’ southern border and aid for Ukraine once members reconvene in Washington after the holidays.