Several districts across Kyiv suffered extensive damage after a large overnight Russian attack between 13 and 14 November, which involved waves of missiles and drones. Initial information from local authorities indicated at least three fatalities in the capital, a figure later confirmed by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office. According to their report, the victims were from the Desnianskyi district, while over two dozen residents from Desnianskyi, Dniprovskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Obolonskyi and Podilskyi were injured. Among the wounded were children aged seven and ten, as well as a pregnant woman.

Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said that nine of the injured required hospital treatment, while the rest received care either on site or in outpatient facilities. Rescue operations were complicated as emergency teams struggled to reach several locations where people were believed to be trapped. In one case, a ten-year-old boy was taken to a children’s hospital after being rescued from an affected neighbourhood.

The scale of destruction became clearer throughout the day. Twenty-seven residential buildings across the city were reported damaged in the initial wave of assessments. The heaviest-hit area was Desnianskyi district, where a fire swept through several floors of a high-rise building and resulted in a fatality. Emergency workers evacuated 14 people from the burning structure and located another individual under debris. A separate fire broke out on the sixth floor of another building in the same district, prompting crews to rescue nine more residents and evacuate dozens.

Firefighters also responded to incidents in the Dniprovskyi district, where flames engulfed two apartments in a five-storey residential block. Seventeen people were brought out to safety. Higher floors of another tower block were damaged, and a blaze spread through wooden structures at a sports complex. In Podilskyi district, a missile strike hit a high-rise at the level of the 14th floor, from which 13 people were rescued.

In Obolonskyi district, debris sparked fires between the sixth and eighth floors of a nine-storey building, covering an area of roughly 100 square meters. Emergency crews extinguished the flames and evacuated one resident. Other districts, including Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi and Shevchenkivskyi, reported building fires, damaged apartments, and rescue operations. In Solomianskyi, twenty people were evacuated from a burning residential building, while in Holosiivskyi debris fell within a hospital compound. Fires were also recorded on school grounds and in open areas in different parts of the city.

The Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, including a hospital and a school, and noted that some heating network facilities had also been hit. Electricity outages occurred in several districts during the strikes, according to journalists present at the scene.

Ukrainian authorities described the assault as one of the heaviest in recent months. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had deployed about 430 drones along with 18 missiles, including ballistic and aeroballistic types. He condemned the attack as “wicked” and noted that casualty figures had been difficult to determine immediately because some victims were still under the rubble.

The intensity of the night’s bombardment was reflected in the multiple air raid alerts issued across the country. Shortly after midnight, Ukraine’s Air Force warned of high-speed projectiles heading toward the capital following the takeoff of Russian MiG-31K aircraft, known carriers of Kinzhal missiles. Minutes later, ballistic missile launches from Russia’s Bryansk region were detected.

In the surrounding Kyiv Oblast, six people were injured, including a child. Regional authorities said the victims suffered burns, cuts and head injuries, while a seven-year-old boy received treatment for facial wounds. Residential properties, warehouses, industrial facilities and vehicles were also damaged in the region.

Throughout the night, Ukrainian air defenses attempted to intercept cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as dozens of drones heading toward Kyiv and other regions. Monitoring groups reported around 120 drones and decoys directed toward the capital alone.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian cities with large-scale strikes since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. In recent months, attacks have increasingly focused on energy infrastructure. Only days earlier, on 8 November, Ukrainian officials described a previous strike as one of the largest direct ballistic missile assaults on energy facilities since the start of the war, prompting emergency power cuts lasting more than 12 hours in Kyiv and several other cities.