August 28, 2025- At least 13 people have died, including three children, in overnight missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Dozens of people have been injured. Officials say the scale of the devastation is too serious even for a city that has been living under constant threat for the past three years.
Officials said attacks took place in more than 20 places in seven districts. Several apartment blocks collapsed into rubble of concrete and iron, trapping families inside their homes. One of the worst-hit areas was Darnytskyi, where a large part of a five-story building collapsed completely. Eyewitnesses reported that people were running out with children through smoke-filled stairs, while rescue workers continued to pull out survivors from the rubble until morning.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as a “massive attack”. Military officials said the attack used ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as Shahed drones from Iran. Before dawn, streaks of red tracer fire were seen in the sky as Ukrainian air defence systems tried to intercept incoming attacks. Some missiles were intercepted, but many hit, burning vehicles and shattering windows in buildings.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly condemned the attacks and expressed particular concern over the deaths of children. “The loss of young lives should evoke a stronger global response”, he said, and called for tougher sanctions from countries such as China and Hungary, which have so far been reluctant to take tough measures. He said Russia continues to choose “ballistics instead of the negotiating table”.
The timing of the attack is also notable. It comes just days after a meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held peace talks in Alaska. These talks were seen as a possible step towards peace. But Moscow has once again indicated that no agreement is likely unless Ukraine gives up some territories and withdraws from Western military cooperation. Kyiv has made it clear that it will not accept this condition.
However, for ordinary citizens of Kiev, the immediate impact of the attack matters more than the political debate. Emergency teams are still searching through the rubble and officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise further. For families who spent the night in basements and heard the explosions reverberating throughout the city, “peace talks” seem a very distant thing at the moment.
