Russia has killed at least 16 in a major drone and missile attack in Ukraine
NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Russia hit civilian areas in Ukraine with hundreds of drones and a barrage of missiles in an attack that lasted hours from day to night, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 as panicked residents cowered in their homes, officials said Thursday.
Russia has introduced nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, mostly targeting civilians, into its main air force in about two weeks, authorities said.
Tetiana Sokol, 54, a resident of Kyiv, said that two missiles hit near her home and she hid with her dog in the hallway as the lights were on at night and the windows were shattered due to the blast wave.
“In the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we don’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever I was carrying and ran away with the dog,” he told the Associated Press. “I still haven’t found the cats in the house, they climbed somewhere, I don’t even know the windows, nothing, the dog is still walking under stress.”
RUSSIAN WINTER STACK LEAVES NEARLY 800K HOMES WITHOUT POWER AND HEATING IN UKRAINE’S DNIPRO REGION
Firefighters work to put out a fire in Kyiv after a Russian strike on April 16, 2026. Russia fired hundreds of potential drones and dozens of missiles at civilian areas across Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80, officials said. (Serhii Okunev / AFP via Getty Images)
Moscow’s military has attacked residential areas almost every day since it attacked its neighbor more than four years ago, with regular attacks sometimes accompanied by large-scale attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainians have died in these strikes, the United Nations said.
Zelenskyy in the campaign to improve air defense
The latest bombing comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy where he is urgently seeking additional air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.
Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, particularly in the production of drones and missiles, but it cannot keep up with the sophistication of US Patriot air defense systems. The most important thing for Ukraine in communications is to get the help of partners to buy and build better and better air defenses, Zelenskyy said this week.
Cash-strapped Ukraine also needs immediate repayment of a promised loan from the European Union of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) blocked by Hungary.
Ukraine fears that a war with Iran is fueling the advanced American programs it needs, and has objected to a temporary US lifting of sanctions on Russian oil that Kyiv says is helping finance the Kremlin’s war effort.
US ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ‘DANGEROUS AND UNEXPLAINABLE INTERFERENCE’ IN UKRAINE WAR DURING PEACE LINKS.
A woman walks her dog through the rubble of a home damaged by a Russian airstrike in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 16, 2026. Officials say the Russian military fired nearly 700 drones and missiles during a day-and-night attack on Ukrainian civilians. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
“Another night has proved that Russia does not deserve the disclosure of world policy or the lifting of sanctions,” Zelenskyy told X.
He thanked Germany, Norway and Italy for new agreements this week to support Ukraine’s air defense. Officials are working with the Netherlands on other matters, he said.
At the same time, he noted that other partner countries did not follow through on promises to support the military.
“I have ordered the Commander of the Air Force to contact those partners who previously committed to providing Patriot missiles and other systems,” said Zelenskyy.
Other areas of Ukraine and Russia were also hit
The bombing was heavy for weeks. Last month, Russia shot down 948 drones and 34 missiles in the space of 24 hours in the war’s biggest attack on civilian areas.
At least four people were killed overnight in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old child, and more than 50 others were injured, according to authorities. Officials said the attack destroyed 17 apartments, 10 houses, as well as a hotel, an office center, a car dealership, a gas station and a shopping mall in the capital.
RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK ON CRIMINAL TRAIN ‘ACT OF TERRORISM,’ ZELENSKYY SAYS
Firefighters work on a building damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 16, 2026. Ukrainian officials said hours-long Russian airstrikes hit Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia regions, destroying homes and other civilian areas. (Genya SAVILOV / AFP via Getty Images)
Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port of Odesa, three women were killed and about 30 were injured in the central Dnipro area, and one person died in Zaporizhzhia in the south.
“Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and the perpetrators held accountable,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told X.
Ukraine’s air force said self-defense aircraft shot down or disabled 667 of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type aircraft and other non-operational aerial vehicles.
It said 20 drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Krasnodar regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported that a 14-year-old girl and a woman were killed in Ukrainian strikes on the Black Sea port of Tuapse.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
He said the attack destroyed six apartments, 24 private houses and three schools. Fragments of the drone also fell near the port of Tuapse.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 207 Ukrainian planes overnight.
