Russian forces unleashed a massive wave of aerial attacks against Ukraine on Friday, firing nearly 500 drones and cruise missiles across the country. The offensive began while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was speaking by phone with Pope Leo XIV.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga confirmed the scale of the strikes, which hit targets across multiple regions. The assault marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing conflict.
“The Russians have done nothing but intensify their attacks, transforming what should have been silence in the sky into an escalation,” Zelenskyy said. He described the bombardment as Moscow's direct response to Kyiv's proposal for an Easter truce.
Casualties reported across the country
Regional authorities reported at least eight civilian deaths following the attacks. Officials in Bucha, near Kyiv, confirmed one fatality, while another person died in the southern region of Kherson.
In the northern Sumy region, three people were killed. One person died in the central region of Zhytomyr, and two more were killed in Kharkiv, a major city near the eastern front lines.
Further east, the violence struck Kramatorsk. Vadim Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, said Russian forces dropped five aerial bombs on the city. That strike alone left at least two people dead and three others wounded.
The Russian military has not issued a statement regarding the specific targets or the scope of the operation. The strikes hit a wide range of locations, stretching from the outskirts of the capital to the active front lines in the east.
Emergency services are currently working through the debris in the affected areas. Local officials continue to assess the full extent of the damage to infrastructure and civilian housing.
