Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv kill 14, including 3 children, and damage the EU mission. EU leaders condemn Moscow’s “deliberate” attack as residents recount horror and footage captures the moment missiles hit.
The Ukrainian capital woke up to scenes of devastation on Thursday after a wave of Russian missiles and drones ripped through residential neighbourhoods, killing at least 14 people — including three children — and leaving entire families homeless. At dawn, residents staggered through streets littered with broken glass, splintered wood, and twisted metal. A five-storey apartment block lay torn in half, reduced to a crater surrounded by hanging balconies where mattresses dangled out like ghostly reminders of the lives once lived inside.
Images posted by President Volodymyr Zelensky showed the gaping wound in the city’s centre. “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war,” he wrote. “This means that Russia still does not fear the consequences.”
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Children Among the Dead
Among the victims was a 14-year-old girl, city military chief Tymur Tkachenko confirmed. Rescue workers pulled her body from the ruins in Kyiv’s Darnytsky district, where a residential building collapsed entirely.
Families spent the night in underground metro stations, huddled in sleeping bags and clutching pets, as red tracer bullets streaked across the night sky in desperate attempts to intercept incoming drones.
One resident, who had rushed her children into a basement moments before the blast, described the impact as “an earthquake mixed with thunder.” She added: “When we came out, our street was gone.”
EU Mission Damaged in Strike
The bombardment did not spare even foreign diplomatic missions. The European Union’s delegation in Kyiv was damaged after a shockwave from one of the explosions ripped through its offices.
“My thoughts are with the Ukrainian victims and also with the staff of the EU delegation, whose building was damaged in this deliberate Russian strike,” European Council president Antonio Costa said on X. “The EU will not be intimidated. Russia’s aggression only strengthens our resolve to stand with Ukraine and its people.”
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Costa shared a photograph of the shattered EU office, where blown-out windows, hanging ceilings, and scattered debris bore witness to the force of the explosion.
EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova confirmed the mission had been “severely damaged by the shock wave,” though no staff were injured.
Diplomacy in Tatters
The attack struck as international calls for peace grow louder. Despite US President Donald Trump’s push for a ceasefire and European efforts at mediation, Moscow has shown little inclination to scale back its offensive.
“While the world seeks a path to peace, Russia responds with missiles,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. “The overnight attack on Kyiv shows a deliberate choice to escalate and mock the peace efforts.”
Zelensky warned that “all deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined,” urging allies to impose tougher sanctions and pressing China and Hungary to abandon their lenient stance toward Moscow.
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Missiles on Camera, Fears for the Future
Footage circulating on social media captured the terrifying moment Russian missiles streaked over Kyiv before erupting into fireballs.
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For many Ukrainians, the attack deepened the sense that Moscow is intentionally targeting civilian life. “Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war,” Zelensky said.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, has dismissed calls for a leaders’ summit and rejected the idea of a European peacekeeping force, further stalling diplomatic progress.