Kyiv was bombarded overnight by Russia’s second-biggest aerial attack since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with at least 21 people killed, including four children, according to officials.
Buildings belonging to the European Union and the British Council were damaged in the strikes into Thursday, causing both the EU and the United Kingdom to summon the top Russian diplomats in their capitals.
Among those killed are children aged 2, 17 and 14, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
Ukraine’s air force said that the Kremlin unleashed 629 air attack weapons on the country overnight, comprising 598 drones and 31 missiles.
Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the air force, told CNN that the strikes comprised “one of the largest combined attacks” on the country.
Russia’s defense ministry said it struck “military-industrial complex enterprises and military air bases in Ukraine” using “high-precision weapons.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is still interested in peace talks, but emphasized that the “special military operation,” Russia’s way of describing the war, “continues.”