Russia launched one of its most intense aerial attacks in nearly two weeks overnight into Thursday, raining hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on Ukrainian cities and killing at least 16 people. The strikes hit the capital Kyiv, the southern port city of Odesa, and Dnipro — an industrial city in central-eastern Ukraine — leaving more than 80 people injured and setting residential buildings and infrastructure ablaze.

In Kyiv, four people were killed, among them a 12-year-old child, and at least 45 others were wounded, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Odesa suffered the heaviest death toll, with seven people killed and eleven injured, while Dnipro reported three dead and 27 wounded, with several buildings damaged or on fire. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia launched nearly 700 drones alongside ballistic and cruise missiles, describing the barrage as deliberately targeting civilians. Ukrainian air defences intercepted a large proportion of the drones, but strikes were confirmed at a minimum of nine locations across the country. Russia, for its part, has consistently maintained that its strikes target military infrastructure.

The overnight attack underscores the grinding aerial pressure Ukraine has faced throughout the conflict, now in its fourth year since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Western assessments point to limited shifts in front-line positions, with fighting continuing around the eastern town of Pokrovsk and the northeastern Sumy region. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire have so far yielded no result, with Kyiv recording nearly 7,700 Russian violations of a partial truce as of 12 April.

Against this backdrop, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been conducting an intensive diplomatic tour of European allies, meeting with leaders in Germany, Norway, and Italy in recent days to press for additional air defence systems and military cooperation. Speaking on Telegram, Zelensky stressed that air defence equipment is needed