The attack used the same kind of drones and missiles that Ukraine used in its strike on Sunday.
Russia launched a wave of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine early Friday, hitting the capital Kyiv and several other areas, according to Ukrainian officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least three people were killed and 49 others injured in the strikes.
The attacks also targeted the city of Lutsk and the Ternopil region in northwestern Ukraine.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed the strikes were a response to what it called “terrorist acts by the Kyiv regime,” and said they were aimed at military sites.
Russia says it launched a massive overnight assault on Ukraine using long-range missiles, drones, and air-, sea-, and ground-based weapons. The strikes targeted several areas and came just days after Ukraine carried out one of its biggest drone attacks on Russian military airbases.
According to Ukrainian officials, the Friday attack involved more than 400 drones and over 40 missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least three people—all emergency service workers—were killed, and the number of injured is expected to rise.
Ukraine’s recent operation, nicknamed the “Spider’s Web,” used 117 drones to hit around 40 Russian warplanes across four bases. Zelensky said the attack damaged 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers.
In response, Russia said its new strikes were retaliation for what it called “terrorist acts” by Ukraine.
Zelensky also used the moment to call on the international community—especially the U.S. and Europe—to step up pressure on Russia to stop the war. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he suggested that failure to act is a form of complicity.
“If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives—that is complicity and accountability,” he wrote. “We must act decisively.”