ISTANBUL

Ukraine said on Thursday that at least 21 people were killed in a major overnight Russian attack on Kyiv that has been condemned by European leaders, with local authorities confirming damage across all districts of the capital.

"As of 8.45 p.m. (1745GMT), 21 people have been confirmed dead in the Russian attack on Kyiv. Search and rescue operations are ongoing," Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA), wrote on Telegram.

According to Tkachenko, all districts of Kyiv were affected in the attack, which he called unprecedented. He said as many as 225 residential buildings, besides garages, yards and public buildings, were damaged.

Separately, Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said 63 people, including 11 children, were injured in the attack.

Klitschko also announced that Friday will be a day of mourning in Kyiv to honor the dead. He said search and rescue efforts were ongoing particularly in the Darnytskyi district, where, he said, a part of a five-story apartment building received a "direct hit."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike “a horrific and deliberate killing of civilians,” saying children were among the victims.

“The Russians are not choosing to end the war, only new strikes. Overnight in Kyiv, dozens of buildings were damaged: residential houses, office centers, civilian enterprises. Among them also the building where the European Union Delegation to Ukraine is located,” Zelenskyy said on US social media company X.

He also accused Russia of rejecting diplomacy to end the Ukraine war that continues since February 2022. “These Russian missiles and attack drones today are a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy. Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table.”

Zelenskyy called for strong reactions from countries including China and Hungary, and urged “new, tough sanctions against Russia for everything it is doing.”

The British Council and the EU mission in Kyiv also said that their buildings were hit and damaged in the attack.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force claimed it shot down 563 out of 598 attack drones, as well as 26 out of 31 various types of missiles, launched by Russia overnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched an overnight group strike on military-industrial complex enterprises and military air bases in Ukraine, claiming all targets were hit.

US President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month as part of his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin says it remains interested in continuing peace negotiations despite the strikes.