Russian airstrikes leave 30 dead

Russia unleashed a devastating aerial assault on Ukraine, resulting in the tragic loss of at least 30 lives and leaving numerous others injured.

According to Ukrainian authorities, this was the most intense wave of violence since the conflict's began nearly two years ago, with schools, a maternity hospital, shopping centers, and residential buildings bearing the brunt of the devastating strikes.

The attacks — during which a Russian missile passed through Polish airspace — triggered international condemnation and fresh promises of military support to Ukraine, which has been fighting off invading Russian troops since late February 2022.

"Today, Russia hit us with almost everything it has in its arsenal," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine's military estimated Russia launched 158 missiles and drones on Ukraine, and 114 of them destroyed.

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat told AFP that this was a "record number" of missiles and "the most massive missile attack" of the war, excluding the early days of constant bombardment.

Russia tried to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses across most major cities, launching a wave of Shahid attack drones followed by missiles of numerous types fired from planes and from Russian-controlled territory.

Interior Minister Igor Klymenko announced on Telegram: "As of now, 30 people have been killed and more than 160 wounded as a result of Russia's massive attack on Ukrainian territory in the morning."

Late Friday, Russian authorities said a strike on a residential building in Belgorod, 80 kilometers north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, had left one dead and four wounded.

A total of 13 missiles were intercepted over the Belgorod region, while 32 drones were downed overnight in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Oryol regions north of the border and the Moscow region, according to the Russian defense ministry.

Meanwhile, Russia's army said it had "carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike" on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that "all targets were hit."

The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop "immediately."

"Regrettably, today's appalling assaults were only the latest in a series of escalating attacks by the Russian Federation," UN Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Khiari said.