Russia fired waves of ballistic missiles and drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight on Nov. 6 to 7, damaging the Northern Bridge, residential buildings, a kindergarten and energy facilities and disrupting electricity, water and heating.1,3,4
President Volodymyr Zelensky said 12 regions came under attack, with the capital hit hardest, including strikes on substations that link the Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine. The strikes came hours after Zelensky warned of another large attack on infrastructure and days before Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to join talks in Abu Dhabi next week.1,4
Accounts differed on the number of injured. The Kyiv Independent put the figure in the city of Kyiv at at least six, including a 14-year-old girl, with two hospitalized; France 24 said at least five people were injured in Kyiv; the BBC said nine people were hurt across the country, including one child. The National Police said one person was killed and two others were injured in the wider Kyiv Oblast.1,3,4
Air raid alerts and explosions continued through the night. The Air Force reported at least six missiles launched at the city in a few minutes shortly before 11 p.m. local time on Nov. 6. Residents received an all-clear about 30 minutes later, followed by another aerial alert shortly before midnight, a fresh missile wave shortly after 1 a.m. with at least six loud blasts reported by Kyiv Independent journalists, and further explosions at 3:04 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. reported by a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the suburbs and said Russia was attacking infrastructure facilities with ballistic missiles.1
In the capital's Solomianskyi District, a five-story residential building was damaged and a kindergarten was damaged, and windows were shattered at another five-story building at an unspecified location. By the morning of Nov. 7, a group of women had come to clear rubble at the kindergarten. The Northern Bridge was closed to traffic in both directions, with damage to the roadbed, trolleybus contact line and power line. "Road workers and utility workers are already working on the Northern Bridge," Klitschko said. Klitschko said the city's water supply was operating normally on the morning of Nov. 7 after most districts had lost supply, and said around 60 percent of apartment buildings were connected to heating. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said there were power cuts in five regions but did not say how many homes were affected.1,4
Yuliia Ponomariova, 20, who attended the damaged kindergarten as a child, said the district is often targeted and described the latest strike. "Now I feel very empty. (This kindergarten) is very precious to me. I still can't quite comprehend that an instant missile attack struck and destroyed an important place for me. I'm glad I survived, that my parents are safe, and that the flat is intact. But it's very frightening what is happening in my neighborhood," Ponomariova said. "I don't wish this on anyone. Except for the citizens of our neighboring country (Russia)," she added.1
Outside the city, Kyiv Oblast Gov. Tymur Tkachenko said a jet-powered drone attack in the Brovary district set fire to a home and injured one person, who was pulled from the rubble and hospitalized with burns and multiple shrapnel wounds. The National Police said energy facilities in the Bucha and Obukhiv districts were damaged. Ukraine's private energy firm DTEK said part of the Brovary district had no electricity supply as a result of the attack.1
The scale of the air attack was not fully reconciled in initial accounts. The Air Force said Russia launched 172 Shahed-type drones, 137 of them jet-powered, plus an unspecified number of ballistic missiles, and claimed to have shot down or suppressed four ballistic missiles and 149 drones, including 117 jet-powered drones, across 24 locations. Zelensky said Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles overnight, all aimed at Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, while the BBC described the wave as more than 30 ballistic missiles and over 170 drones. Zelensky said substations were also damaged in the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.1,4
"Russia is preparing for the trilateral talks by launching ballistic missiles at Ukrainian critical infrastructure," Zelensky said. "The situation in the capital is difficult, with disruptions to electricity, water, and heating supplies. Residential buildings, the North Bridge, and a kindergarten have been damaged," Zelensky said. "In the Kyiv region, there were strikes on substations that connect the Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants to Kyiv and central Ukraine."1,4
"When Russia is trying to push Kyiv – a city of millions – and the entire country into a blackout, Ukraine cannot be left alone. We are counting on increased bilateral support from America," Zelensky said. "We are counting on unity between both parties on issues of security, support for Ukraine, condemnation of Russian aggression, and increased sanctions pressure on Putin," he said. "The resolve and consistency of the United States in supporting Ukraine are of great importance in bringing peace closer."1,4
The strikes followed a White House meeting on Thursday hosted by U.S. first lady Melania Trump with Russian and Ukrainian delegations, at which she called for a "more enduring" ceasefire after a truce last week in the southern region of Kherson. She thanked Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin and made no reference to the origins of the war, which began when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky were able to evacuate during a six-day ceasefire, which both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering. "The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace," she said. Earlier in the week, glide bombs hit an aid center near Zaporizhzhia, with the death toll rising to 55 as teams searched the ruins. Temperatures are dropping in Ukraine, and parts of the country have had the first winter snow.4
On the evening of Nov. 6, Zelensky had told Ukrainians that intelligence pointed to another large Russian strike targeting bridges, energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. Zelensky's spokesperson would not be drawn on reports that the Ukrainian president is to be invited to Britain for a state visit next year.1,4
