Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 13 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 Leash 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. 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.
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.
Scores of 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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Kremlin’s forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
“Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal,” Zelenskyy said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Russia “apparently launched everything they have,” except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack.