Missiles Strike Kyiv as Blackout Hits Sevastopol
KYIV-Russia launched missiles and drones against Kyiv early on Monday, damaging residential buildings and trapping residents, while a Ukrainian strike disrupted electricity supplies in Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, as both sides intensified attacks and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was preparing another large-scale offensive ahead of this week’s NATO summit.
Officials in Kyiv said emergency crews were responding after a residential building near the city centre sustained significant damage. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped on the seventh through ninth floors of a building in the historic Podil district, while debris from intercepted drones also struck another residential building and several other parts of the Ukrainian capital.
Reuters witnesses reported multiple explosions across Kyiv as Ukrainian air defence systems engaged incoming Russian drones and missiles. Authorities continued assessing the full extent of the damage, with rescue operations underway.
The latest strike followed one of Russia’s heaviest attacks on Kyiv only days earlier, when hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles were launched against the capital, killing at least 30 people, according to Ukrainian officials.
In Crimea, authorities installed by Moscow said Sevastopol temporarily lost electricity after what they described as a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure near the city. Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, appointed by Russia following its annexation of Crimea in 2014, said power supplies were disrupted after the attack but provided no immediate details on the scale of the damage.
The exchange of attacks came as Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence had received information indicating that Russia was preparing another major strike. In his nightly address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president said Moscow appeared to be planning a fresh wave of attacks ahead of the NATO summit in Turkiye, where he is expected to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on the war.
Zelensky also disputed Russian claims that its forces had captured Kostyantynivka, a strategically important town in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. He said fighting was continuing there despite Moscow’s announcement that the settlement had fallen under Russian control.
Kostyantynivka, which had a pre-war population of about 78,000, has long been regarded as a key objective in Russia’s campaign to secure the Donetsk region because of its position as a gateway to other Ukrainian-held urban centres.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that Ukraine had declined a proposal for a six-hour ceasefire around Kostyantynivka that Moscow said would have allowed the transfer of the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The ministry said Kyiv had been given until 0900 GMT on Sunday to respond. Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on the Russian statement.
Zelensky said Ukrainian long-range strikes targeting oil and fuel facilities inside Russia were producing tangible results and argued that sustained military pressure on Moscow remained necessary to achieve peace.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after years of tensions following its annexation of Crimea in 2014. The conflict has since become Europe’s largest war since World War Two, with repeated diplomatic efforts failing to produce a comprehensive settlement as military operations continue across multiple fronts.
The latest exchange of missile and drone attacks underscored the continuing intensity of the conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine maintaining long-range strikes against military and infrastructure targets while battles persist along the eastern front.
