俄罗斯发动了今年以来最致命的袭击，在夜间向遭受战火蹂躏的乌克兰发射了700多架无人机和导弹，造成至少18名乌克兰人死亡。袭击始于周三午夜前，一直持续到周四清晨，其中敖德萨记录了9人死亡，第聂伯罗5人，基辅4人（包括一名12岁的男孩）。
乌克兰总统泽连斯基在一份声明中表示：“今天对乌克兰来说又是非常艰难的一天，是非常艰难的一晚——这是在俄罗斯发动大规模袭击之后。仅在一个晚上，就有近300架攻击型无人机、19枚弹道导弹以及巡航导弹。而这还是在昨天‘见证者’无人机布满我们天空之后发生的。只是普通的民众、儿童、平民，死于俄罗斯的疯狂。”
在轰炸期间，乌方表示拦截了31枚导弹和636架无人机，但仍有12枚导弹和20架无人机成功突破并袭击了全国26个地点。爆炸图像显示乌克兰首都上空飘着黑烟。随着救援行动仍在进行且数十人受伤，副总理奥列克西·库列巴警告称，死亡人数可能还会进一步上升。
根据地区官员的数据，基辅有50多人受伤，敖德萨有23人受伤，第聂伯罗约36人受伤。在东北部乌克兰第二大城市哈尔科夫，有两人受伤。
Russia launched its deadliest strike of the year, killing at least 18 Ukrainians after it fired more than 700 drones and missiles at the war-torn country overnight.
The attack on Ukraine began just before midnight on Wednesday and carried into early Thursday, with nine deaths recorded in Odessa, five in Dnipro, and four in Kyiv, which included the killing of a 12-year-old boy.
“Today in Ukraine is another very hard day, really hard night – the day after a massive Russian attack,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.
Firefighters work at the site of a recyclable materials warehouse hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Kyiv, Ukraine on April 16, 2026. REUTERS
“In just one night, there were nearly 300 attack drones, 19 ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles. … And this came after waves of “shaheds” had filled our skies just yesterday,” he added.
“Just ordinary people, children, civilians, killed by Russian madness.”
During the bombardments, Ukraine said it was able to intercept 31 missiles and 636 drones, but 12 rockets and 20 UAVs still managed to break through and rock 26 locations across the country.
Images of the blast showed the the Ukrainian capital, with black smoke billowing in the sky.
With rescue operations still underway and scores of people injured, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba warned that the death toll could rise even higher.
Rescuers and medical workers evacuate a resident from the apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout picture released on April 16, 2026. via REUTERS
A firefighter works at the site of a recyclable materials warehouse hit by a Russian missile strike attack on Kyiv, Ukraine April 16, 2026. REUTERS
More than 50 people were injured in Kyiv, with 23 wounded in Odessa and about 36 in Dnipro, according to regional officials.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast, two people were injured by drone strikes, officials said.
“Such attacks cannot be normalized,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X.
“These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account.”
Zelensky, who has warned that his country is facing a shortage of Patriot air defense missiles, said the overnight attack proved that Moscow was still able to wage large-scale attacks more than four years into the war.
“Russia is betting on war, and that is exactly how the response should be – we must protect lives with all our might and press for peace with all our might as well,” he said.
Meanwhile in Russia, a major Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Tuapse sparked a large fire in the city that’s home to one of Moscow’s large oil refineries.
The blast killed two people, including a 14-year-old girl, and left seven others injured, Russian officials said.
With Post Wires