Heavy Russian attack on Ukrainian cities kills at least 15

Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg News on Apr 16, 2026

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Russia carried out one of the largest attacks on Ukraine so far this year, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens in an overnight onslaught of missiles and drones targeting Kyiv and other major cities.

Ukraine’s Air Defense said Russia launched in excess of 40 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as more than 650 drones of various types, calling it one of the toughest attacks of the year to date. Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia were hit along with the capital.

Children were among those killed in the barrage, with mostly residential areas damaged, according to the State Emergency Service and local authorities. In Kyiv, police and medics who came to help the injured were also hurt in follow-up strikes, Ukraine’s Prosecutor’s General Office said on Telegram.

Russia regularly uses so-called double-tap strikes that seek to target medical crews and other rescue workers responding to initial attacks.

“Operational headquarters have been deployed on the ground in all affected cities,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. “Rescuers, municipal services, doctors and all responsible services are working, providing assistance to people and recording the damage.”

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attacks showed it’s “immoral, counterproductive, and dangerous” to delay sanctions against Russia or aid for Ukraine. “Any day of further inaction on critical decisions sends wrong signals and encourages the aggressor to continue, prolong, and expand the war,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

Russia’s Black Sea coast came under attack overnight, with several residential buildings in Tuapse damaged and two children killed, according to Krasnodar region’s authorities. Debris fell on the territory of enterprises in the port area. Tuapse is the home of one of the largest ports and a refinery, owned by Rosneft.