Russia has launched heavy airstrikes on Ukraine for the second night in a row, killing four people and wounding several more, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday.
At least four people were killed in the attacks: two by a rocket attack on a hotel in Kryvyi Rih and two others by drone strikes in Zaporizhia.
“We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the social media platform X.
At least 16 others were wounded in the strikes, which reportedly involved the firing of cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles, Zelensky said.
In one of the heaviest bombardments since the conflict began, some 52,000 people in Kiev sought refuge in metro stations as sirens blared across the capital, Ukrainian media reported.
All flying objects aimed at Kiev have been shot down, the capital’s military authorities reported.
However, hits and damage were reported in the Sumy, Kharkov, Donetsk, Kherson and Khmelnytskyi regions.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, five Russian cruise missiles and 60 of the 81 drones deployed were intercepted, but three Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles and two Iskander missiles could not be shot down.
Analysts noted that the strikes primarily targeted Ukraine’s energy system, though unconfirmed reports suggested that the Starokostiantyniv air base in the western Khmelnytskyi region could also be a target.
The latest bombings came a day after Moscow launched a strike with 127 missiles and more than 100 combat drones, the highest number reported by the Ukrainian military in two and a half years of conflict.
