Strong explosions rocked Kyiv overnight into Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that intelligence data showed Russia was planning a ‘massive’ overnight strike.

Damage and Casualties

Kyiv officials said Russia was launching ballistic missiles and drones at Ukraine, which damaged and set fire to residential buildings, killing at least one person. At least eleven wounded people had been hospitalized following the attacks, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Rescuers were rushing to the scene of a destroyed nine-story building where people were trapped inside, Klitschko said. Earlier, he said medical workers had been wounded after an ambulance substation was struck.

Warning and Preparations

On Wednesday, Zelensky asked residents to be ‘especially careful’ and to heed air-raid sirens, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ‘preparing a massive strike against Ukraine for some time.’ Some residents packed into metro stations for shelter, preparing for a long night of sirens, which began sounding around 8 p.m. local time.

Ukraine has launched an unprecedented drone campaign against Russia in the past month, targeting energy infrastructure in long-range drone attacks that Zelensky has framed as a key strategy to force Moscow to end the war.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.