Russia Announces New Wave of Strikes on Kyiv After Weekend Barrage

Ukrainian authorities said Sunday’s assault involved around 600 drones and 90 cruise and ballistic missiles. The Ukrainian air force reported shooting down 549 drones and 55 missiles, but falling debris and direct hits caused widespread destruction. Among the damaged sites were the studios of German public broadcasters ARD and Deutsche Welle, and a historic Dominican monastery where more than 40 windows and doors were shattered.

International Condemnation and Defiance

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the use of the nuclear‑capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile as a “rücksichtslose Eskalation” (reckless escalation), while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “Verzweiflungstat” (act of desperation). Their reactions reflected broad revulsion among Kyiv’s Western allies.

Despite Moscow’s warnings, the European Union representation in Kyiv rejected demands to leave. “We stay in Kyiv,” Katarina Mathernova, head of the EU office, said in a statement. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha called on allies “not to yield to Russian blackmail.”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the impending strikes, framing them as retaliation for what Moscow called a “terrorist attack” on a student dormitory in the occupied Luhansk region last Friday that killed 21 people. Ukraine maintains it hit a legitimate military command unit.

Eastern Ukraine Under Fire

While Kyiv braced for more attacks, eastern regions suffered fresh casualties. In Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, twelve people were injured by guided glide bombs on Monday, local authorities said, in the third heavy bombardment of the city that day. Governor Wadym Filaschkin reported that an eight‑year‑old boy was among the injured.

In Odesa, an infrastructure site was destroyed by shelling, killing one person out of four wounded, Governor Serhij Lyssak said. Further north in Kharkiv region, two people died and 19 were wounded in separate strikes, according to local authorities.

Ukraine’s military also mounted counter‑strikes deep inside Russian territory. The Ukrainian security service SBU claimed a drone attack on an oil pumping station in the Vladimir region east of Moscow, causing an 800‑square‑meter fire at a facility that supplies fuel to Moscow‑area depots and airports including Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo.

Russian officials reported shooting down projectiles over the Leningrad region, which encompasses St. Petersburg and critical port and energy infrastructure. Two civilians were killed in Ukrainian strikes on the Belgorod and Bryansk border regions, according to local authorities.

Escalation Fears and Diplomatic Responses

The weekend’s assault was the third known use of the Oreshnik missile. Ukrainian military administrator Tymur Tkatschenko described the attack as the largest Russia has launched since the 2022 full‑scale invasion. Combined with Moscow’s threat to strike leadership targets, the development raised fears of a further escalation in the nearly four‑year war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, noted limited progress with Washington on expanding production of missile defense systems and said he expects new diplomatic steps from the U.S. He highlighted that Ukraine successfully intercepted most of the incoming projectiles but stressed the need for more advanced systems to protect civilians.

As of Monday evening, the casualty toll from Sunday’s barrage stood at two dead and 91 injured in Kyiv alone, while eastern regions counted additional fatalities. Ukraine’s general staff claimed that over 1,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours across the front, though the figure could not be independently verified.