‘We will rebuild’: Ukrainians defiant after Russia ‘unleashes hell’ on Kyiv with deadly strikes killing 21

We will rise up and rebuild,” was the defiant message from Ukrainians after Russia unleashed one of the biggest attacks of the war on the capital Kyiv, leaving at least 21 dead, 90 hurt and 130 buildings damaged.

The EU ambassador to Ukraine said that “Russia unleashed hell on Kyiv” in the overnight attack, with 74 missiles and 496 drones launched, according to the Ukrainian air force. Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha described the assault as a “night of horror”.

The attack caused the widest destruction in Kyiv so far this year, and was the deadliest since at least May, when 24 people were killed in a strike that brought down an apartment block. Footage and images from the city showed widespread destruction as residents were left picking up the pieces.

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Kyiv citizens told The Independent they were left in shock after the latest assault from Vladimir Putin’s forces, which Moscow said was launched in retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.

Kashtanchik kindergarten, which serves around 70 local children aged between two and six, was one of the scores of buildings hit in the onslaught.

Director Tetiana Konovalchuk, who has run the nursery for 26 years, said when the explosions woke her before dawn, she rushed the 500 metres from her home to inspect the damage.

Asked whether she felt anger after another attack had damaged the kindergarten – it was also hit last year – she paused, looked away and fought back tears.

“I will only say that we will rise up and rebuild,” the 49-year-old replied.

As workers hurled shattered window frames onto the pavement below, she shouted warnings to those walking past to avoid being struck by falling debris.

Before long, another air raid siren echoed across the district, followed by two more within the hour, briefly interrupting the clean-up.

President Volodymyr Zelensky cut short a visit to Ireland on Wednesday evening and had warned Ukrainians that a major attack was imminent.

“The main strike was directed at Kyiv. Air defence supplies for Ukraine are an absolute and critical priority,” he said, urging Ukraine’s allies to maintain contributions to a fund to buy US weapons, including Patriot air defence missiles for Ukraine.

The multiple waves of strikes, which began shortly after 2am on Thursday, destroyed apartment buildings and sent plumes of black smoke over the capital that lingered well into the morning. In the city centre, a hotel was set ablaze, its upper storeys burning for hours after the impact.

Residents in Kyiv’s eastern Darnytsia district, the worst-affected area of the capital, described a series of earth-shaking explosions that ripped away five floors of a nine-storey residential block and gouged a crater several metres deep in front of a neighbouring building.

“Everyone is just in total shock,” said Myroslava Fedykovych, a psychologist who arrived to provide emergency mental health support.

Ms Fedykovych said she had spoken to a 20-year-old woman who fled to a shelter about 50 metres away after an initial explosion struck the area at around 3.30am.

Half an hour later, as dozens of residents sheltered in the basement, another missile slammed into the courtyard outside.

The blast rendered her apartment building “completely unliveable” and shook the shelter so violently that those inside feared the ceiling would collapse. Several men began trying to force open the rear exit in case they needed another escape route.

“There was a first hit, and after that, they ran to the shelter nearby. You can see the crater behind me, which was just after they got to the shelter,” Ms Fedykovych said.

“So the first strike basically saved their lives. But then they thought the shelter was going to collapse because it was shaking and pieces of the ceiling were falling on them.

“The men in the shelter tried to break open the back door because they thought they were going to be trapped.

“This building behind is completely unliveable now,” she continued. “At the moment, everyone is just in total shock. They are just sitting there in silence. But I know from previous experience that everyone will reach out again, when it has calmed down.

“It has been very difficult emotionally. We have been having our therapy as we go.”

Nearby, rescuers clambered over the shattered building, clearing debris and searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble.

As colleagues passed a body bag up through the ruins, a washing machine suddenly tumbled from the eighth floor, crashing to the ground beside a fire engine.

Residents huddled nearby waiting for humanitarian assistance when a man suddenly screamed and ran into the destroyed building. A dozen armed police officers chased after him before dragging him back outside.

Ms Fedykovych pointed towards the young woman, who declined to speak. She sat, stunned into silence, in the shade beside a basketball court, opposite the blackened shell of what had once been her home.

Between her and the ruined building, a Ukrainian serviceman stood at the edge of the missile crater examining fragments of the weapon that had destroyed it.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as “a terrible night” and said damage had been recorded in every district of the city. The Darnytsia residential block suffered the worst destruction, he said, with part of the building “literally blown away”.

Rescuers were still searching for people trapped beneath the rubble, including a 15-year-old girl and her family. Friday has been declared a day of mourning in the capital.

The Russian Defence Ministry, in a Telegram post, said its “massive attack” using long-range, high-precision air, land and sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports in Kyiv and other locations.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted most of the missiles and drones, but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations across the country, with Kyiv the primary target.

The government, which has stepped up strikes in recent weeks on Russia’s domestic fuel supply, said it had hit an oil refinery overnight in the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod, where the governor reported one person killed in a strike on an industrial facility.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow could help stop Russian attacks.

“Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to the strikes,” she said in a post on X. “The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed.”