Russia launches major overnight drone and missile strike on Ukraine

Russian forces launched one of their largest overnight assaults on Ukraine this week, unleashing what Kyiv called a massive combined missile and drone strike that hit multiple sites across the country, including the capital, Kyiv, and damaged buildings near the European Union mission and the British Council offices. The Ukrainian Air Force said the raid involved 598 drones and 31 missiles. Other accounts put the total of missiles and drones at about 629, and reports on civilian casualties varied.

Ukrainian officials said most of the incoming drones and missiles were intercepted, but that dozens still penetrated air defenses and struck more than 20 locations in Kyiv and other regions. Emergency services and local media reported collapsed buildings and rescue crews pulling people from rubble. One account said at least 19 civilians were killed, including four children, while diplomatic sources reported no casualties among EU or British staff at the damaged missions.

The attack came amid a contentious diplomatic push by the United States to broker talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Keith Kellogg, the U.S. envoy on Ukraine, warned that Moscow's strikes undermine peace efforts being...