13 ballistic missiles, one Oreshnik, 22 cruise missiles: Russia strikes Qatar embassy in Kyiv; 20 residential buildings damaged

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched a “massive” overnight strike on Kyiv and other regions, damaging residential buildings, critical infrastructure and the Embassy of Qatar, as temperatures plunged during a severe cold spell.

“In Kyiv and the region, the aftermath of the massive Russian strike is still being dealt with. All necessary services are deployed,” Zelenskyy said, adding that “twenty residential buildings alone were damaged.” He said recovery operations were continuing not only in the capital but also in the Lviv region and elsewhere in the country.






At least four people were killed in Kyiv, including a member of an ambulance crew, while dozens were injured. “Unfortunately, as of now, it is known that four people have been killed in the capital alone. Among them is an ambulance crew member. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” the president said. He described a “second strike on one of the residential buildings – precisely at the moment when first responders were providing assistance after the first strike”.

Zelenskyy said Russia launched 242 drones overnight, along with 13 ballistic missiles, 22 cruise missiles and one Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile, with attacks aimed at energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. “The attack took place exactly when there was a significant cold spell. Aimed precisely against the normal life of ordinary people,” he said.

Among the sites hit was the Embassy of Qatar in Kyiv. “In addition to our civilian infrastructure and energy facilities, a building of the Embassy of Qatar was damaged last night by a Russian drone – Qatar, a state that does so much to mediate with Russia in order to secure the release of prisoners of war and civilians held in Russian prisons,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian authorities said Kyiv and its surrounding region suffered the heaviest impact, with interior minister Igor Klymenko accusing Russia of deliberately striking emergency responders working at the scene of earlier attacks.

The strikes came as temperatures dropped below minus 10 degrees Celsius, leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, heating or water. Klymenko said Russia’s goal was to leave civilians without basic services during winter.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said four civilians were killed and more than two dozen injured in Kyiv alone, adding that residential areas and critical infrastructure were targeted. He said Ukraine was urging international partners to condemn the attacks, impose tougher sanctions and increase military assistance, warning that Moscow was choosing “war, terror, and barbarism instead of diplomacy”.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also said Russian losses on the front lines were mounting. Citing Ukrainian figures, he said tens of thousands of Russian troops had been killed in recent months, suggesting Moscow’s current recruitment methods were becoming unsustainable.