(LONDON) — Russian drone and missiles strikes killed at least seven people and left around 20 people missing, possibly trapped under rubble, amid 24 hours of intense attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other areas around the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram on Thursday that Russia launched 675 drones and 56 missiles into the country overnight, of which 652 drones and 41 missiles were intercepted or suppressed.
Fifteen missiles and 23 drones impacted across 24 locations, the air force said, while falling debris was reported in 18 locations. The Russian attack was still ongoing as of Thursday morning, the air force warned.
The overnight barrage followed an intense day of strikes on Wednesday, during which time the air force reported 892 Russian drones launched into the country, of which 821 failed to reach their targets.
In total, Ukraine’s air force reported at least 1,623 Russian munitions launched into the country through Wednesday and Thursday. Ukrainian officials said that at least 16 people had been killed and more than 100 injured across two days of Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Thursday that responders were digging through the rubble of a partially-collapsed nine-story apartment building in Kyiv’s southeastern Darnytsia district, searching for missing people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that at least 20 buildings were damaged in Kyiv, including a school. “There will be a just response to all these attacks. And we need to put pressure on Moscow so that they feel the consequences of their terror there,” he wrote.
“It’s important that there be worldwide sanctions against Russia. Russia’s responsibility for the war and our sanctions pressure should work at full capacity. And it’s also very important that the world not remain silent about this terror and stand with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged foreign leaders — including President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping — to condemn the latest strikes.
“This barbaric attack during such an important summit shows that the Russian regime poses a global threat to international security. Instead of peace and development, Moscow pursues aggression and terror,” he wrote in a post to X, referring to Trump’s ongoing visit to Beijing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sybiha wrote, “wants this war to continue in order to prolong his control and rule over Russia. There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the interception of 36 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday. The ministry claimed to have downed 431 Ukrainian drones during the course of Wednesday.
Both Russia and Ukraine have expanded their long-range attacks exponentially over the past year, with the ongoing frontline combat grinding into a near-stalemate with little apparent hope for either side to achieve significant breakthroughs.
April saw Russia launch the most attacks of any month of the war to date, according to Ukrainian air force data. Kyiv reported facing 6,663 Russian drones and 141 missiles during the course of the month.
Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks reached a high point in March, according to data published by the Russian Defense Ministry. In that month, Moscow said its forces downed at least 7,347 Ukrainian drones.
ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.
Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.
Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many penetrated air defenses.
Moscow, meanwhile, publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
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