Russia bombards Kyiv in one of war’s biggest strikes, at least 21 people killed

Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in the early hours on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, wounding scores more and damaging around 130 buildings in one of the biggest attacks of the war.Multiple explosions shook central Kyiv and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed to bomb shelters and underground metro stations. Huge columns of smoke filled the skyline.The attack was the deadliest in Kyiv since at least May, and the wide spread of destruction across the breadth of the capital had little precedent even in a war now in its fifth year.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who cut short his visit to Ireland and rushed home, visited a site on the city’s left bank where a nine-story residential building was half destroyed. He blamed the destruction in part on a failure of allies to deliver promised air defenses.“If our partners had delivered on their promises in a timely manner, I think we could have saved more homes and lives today,” said Zelenskiy, who looked tired and visibly frustrated. “All we ask of our partners is simply to do what we’ve agreed on. We’re not even asking for more.”Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Yuri Ihnat, the Air Force spokesperson, said the number of ballistic missiles was unusually high and the interception rate for them was low. Ukraine has struggled with shortages of Patriot missiles in recent months.The Russian Defence Ministry, in a Telegram post, said its “massive attack” using long-range, high-precision air-, land- and sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports in Kyiv and other locations.Moscow said the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia. Kyiv, which has stepped up strikes in recent weeks on Russia’s domestic fuel supply, said it had hit an oil refinery overnight in the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod, where the govern