Ukraine Says It Was Hit by Biggest Barrage of the War

Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 18 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the 22-month war. The Ukrainian air force intercepted 87 of the missiles and 27 of the Shahed-type drones overnight, Ukraine's military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk called it on his official Telegram channel "the most massive aerial attack" since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to the Ukrainian air force, the previous biggest assault was in November 2022 when Russia launched 96 missiles against Ukraine, the AP reports. This year, the biggest was 81 missiles on March 9, air force records show.

Western officials and analysts have warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile strikes in recent months in an apparent effort to build up stockpiles for massive strikes during the winter, hoping to break the Ukrainians' spirit. At least 86 people were injured and an unknown number were buried under rubble during the roughly 18-hour onslaught, Ukrainian officials said. Among the buildings reported to be damaged across Ukraine were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks, and schools. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin's forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles. "Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal," Zelensky said in a post on X.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Russia "apparently launched everything they have," except for submarine-launched Kalibr missiles, in the attack. The aerial attack that began Thursday and continued through the night hit six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, according to authorities. Reports of deaths and damage came in from across the country. In Odesa, on the southern coast, falling drone wreckage started a fire at a multi-story residential building, according to the regional head, Oleh Kiper. Two people were killed and 15, including two children, were injured in the course of the Odesa attack, he said. Several dozen missiles were launched toward Kyiv during the night, with more than 30 of them intercepted, said Serhii Poplo, head of the Kyiv military administration.

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