Kyiv | January 9, 2026
Russian armed forces carried out a series of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine overnight, hitting residential areas in Kyiv and critical infrastructure in Lviv, killing at least four people and wounding dozens more, Ukrainian officials said.
In the capital, Russian drones and missiles struck multiple high-rise apartment buildings, triggering fires and widespread damage in densely populated neighborhoods. Ukrainian emergency services reported that four civilians were killed and 28 injured, including two children. Several buildings were partially destroyed, forcing residents to flee amid ongoing air raid alerts.
The attacks also damaged the Embassy of Qatar in Kyiv, raising diplomatic concerns. Qatari officials confirmed the building sustained damage, though no embassy staff were reported injured.
According to reporting by Euronews, the Kyiv strikes appeared to target civilian areas rather than military installations, intensifying international scrutiny of Russia’s conduct in the war.
Separately, Russian forces launched an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile at the western city of Lviv, striking a critical infrastructure facility. The attack, reported by BBC News, marked one of the first confirmed battlefield uses of the advanced missile system in western Ukraine, a region that has generally faced fewer direct strikes than the east and south.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, describing them as deliberate assaults on civilians and essential infrastructure. He renewed calls for additional air defense systems from NATO allies, warning that existing defenses remain insufficient to counter Russia’s evolving missile and drone capabilities.
The Kremlin said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for recent Ukrainian incursions, with Russian President Vladimir Putin framing the attacks as part of Moscow’s broader military objectives. Ukraine has rejected that justification, accusing Russia of escalating the conflict through indiscriminate urban targeting.
As the war approaches its fourth year, the latest strikes underscore a growing pattern of attacks on cities and infrastructure, further deepening the humanitarian crisis and raising concerns over the conflict’s expanding geographic and technological scope.
