Russian ballistic and cruise missiles, alongside waves of drones, struck residential districts, a children’s hospital and other civilian sites across the Ukrainian capital, killing at least 13 people and intensifying pressure on Kyiv’s depleted missile-defence network.

Kyiv endured one of its heaviest aerial bombardments in recent months overnight into Thursday, as Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone assault against the Ukrainian capital and surrounding region, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more.

The attack, which continued for several hours, struck residential buildings, warehouses, a school and a children’s hospital, according to Ukrainian officials. Emergency crews spent the morning searching damaged apartment blocks for survivors while firefighters battled blazes across several districts of the capital.

The Ukrainian death toll continued to evolve during the morning as rescue operations progressed. Authorities initially reported 12 people killed in Kyiv, with another death recorded in the surrounding region, bringing the broader toll to at least 13. More than 40 people were reported injured.

Among the hardest-hit areas was Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, where the upper floors of a nine-storey residential building were severely damaged. Seven people were reported killed there alone. Other strikes caused damage across multiple districts, with residents trapped in buildings and emergency workers conducting searches through debris.

A children’s hospital was also damaged in the assault. Windows were shattered and vehicles nearby were set on fire, while other civilian and educational facilities suffered damage. Ukrainian officials said the widespread pattern of destruction demonstrated the continuing risks posed to densely populated urban areas even when military sites are among Russia’s stated targets.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had attacked military-related facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region, including sites involved in the production of drone components, a military depot and a logistics centre. Moscow has consistently denied deliberately targeting civilians.

Ukraine, however, described the assault as another large-scale attack on civilian infrastructure.

According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched dozens of missiles together with a major drone wave. Ukrainian forces reported intercepting most of the cruise missiles and more than 140 attack drones, but the country’s defences were significantly less successful against ballistic weapons.

That vulnerability is becoming increasingly significant.

Ballistic missiles descend at extremely high speeds and are considerably more difficult to intercept than conventional cruise missiles or drones. Ukraine relies heavily on Western-supplied systems such as the American-made Patriot for protection against such threats, but Kyiv has repeatedly warned that its supply of interceptor missiles is insufficient for the intensity of Russia’s current campaign.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again called for additional anti-ballistic systems following Thursday’s attack, arguing that strengthening Ukraine’s air defences remained one of the most urgent requirements for protecting major cities.

The latest bombardment comes amid evidence that Russia has intensified its long-range campaign against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure during the summer.

United Nations figures published earlier this month showed that civilian casualties in Ukraine rose sharply in July, reaching their highest monthly level since May 2022. At least 437 civilians were killed and more than 2,600 injured during that month, with long-range missiles and drones accounting for a substantial proportion of the casualties.

The increase has been particularly visible far from the front line.

While ground combat remains concentrated mainly in eastern and southeastern Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones can reach cities hundreds of kilometres from the fighting. Kyiv, despite possessing some of the country’s strongest air-defence coverage, has therefore remained vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated and concentrated attacks.

The effects are increasingly shaping everyday life in the capital.

Some Kyiv residents have begun sleeping regularly in underground metro stations even on nights when no immediate strike is expected, reflecting growing concern over the frequency of missile and drone attacks and the difficulty of predicting when ballistic weapons may reach the city.

Thursday’s attack also disrupted electricity supplies. Around 90,000 homes temporarily lost power, although Ukrainian energy company DTEK said supplies were gradually being restored.

The bombardment unfolded against a broader escalation in long-range warfare between Russia and Ukraine.

Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian oil refineries, logistics facilities and military infrastructure using long-range drones and other weapons. Ukrainian strikes have reached deep inside Russian territory, while attacks have also intensified against Russian positions and maritime infrastructure in occupied Crimea and around the Black Sea.

Russia, in turn, has expanded attacks against Ukrainian industrial, military and energy facilities.

That exchange has created an increasingly dangerous cycle in which both sides are investing heavily in long-range strike capabilities even as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled.

For Ukraine, however, the imbalance in ballistic missile capability remains particularly acute. Russia possesses a large domestic missile-production industry, while Ukraine depends partly on Western interceptor stocks that are expensive, technically complex and available only in limited quantities.

The consequences were starkly visible in Kyiv on Thursday.

Ukraine said its air defences destroyed the majority of incoming drones and cruise missiles, yet several ballistic weapons penetrated the defensive network and inflicted significant damage.

The attack also created wider regional concern. Poland activated defensive measures during the Russian strikes, while the risk of missiles and drones entering neighbouring NATO airspace has become a recurring concern during major Russian bombardments of western and central Ukraine.

For Kyiv’s population, those strategic calculations were overshadowed by the immediate aftermath.

Rescue teams moved through shattered residential buildings as residents gathered outside damaged homes, surveying burned vehicles, broken windows and collapsed sections of apartment blocks. Authorities declared a day of mourning as the scale of the casualties became clearer.

The August 20 assault underscores a central reality of the conflict more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion: even as the front line shifts only gradually, the aerial war is becoming increasingly intense.

Russia’s expanding use of ballistic missiles and large drone formations is forcing Ukraine to expend valuable interceptor ammunition at a rapid rate, while Kyiv’s ability to protect civilian centres increasingly depends on whether Western governments can replenish those defences.

For the residents of the Ukrainian capital, the strategic implications are already painfully tangible.

Thursday’s bombardment left homes destroyed, a children’s hospital damaged and families searching through the wreckage — another reminder that the war’s most dangerous front is not confined to the trenches.