At least 10 people have been killed and 56 others injured after Russia launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

The bombardment left a trail of destruction across the city, damaging dozens of buildings, including residential apartments. A section of a nine-storey apartment block collapsed after it was struck, while two children were among those injured in the attack.

Vitali Klitschko said the strike caused extensive damage, noting that six floors of a residential building collapsed after it was hit by what he described as a direct Russian projectile.

The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said at least 36 locations across the capital sustained damage.

“The enemy has once again deliberately targeted residential neighbourhoods and killed civilians. We have sustained extensive damage and a significant number of casualties, including children,” Tkachenko said.

The attack came just hours after Volodymyr Zelenskyy cut short an official visit to Ireland, citing intelligence reports that suggested Russia was preparing a major overnight assault.

As air raid sirens echoed across much of Ukraine, thousands of residents rushed to underground metro stations and other shelters, many carrying children, pets and essential belongings.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, described the bombardment as another devastating night for residents of the capital.

“Another horrific night for the residents of the city, who were forced to spend it in shelters,” she wrote on X.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes were aimed at military and energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv, as well as military airfields in the Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

According to the ministry, the operation involved long-range missiles and drones and was carried out in response to what it described as recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said its forces carried out a retaliatory strike on the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region.

Ukraine’s General Staff said a primary crude oil processing unit at the refinery was hit during the overnight operation, adding that authorities were still assessing the extent of the damage.