Updated September 28, 2025 at 10:15 AM PDT
Russia launched its first major wave of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in nearly a month, pounding sites across the country on Sunday and leaving Kyiv hardest hit as rescue workers scrambled to pull people from the rubble.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia fired nearly 600 drones and dozens of missiles in the assault, which killed at least four people nationwide and injured at least 70 others. At least four of the dead were in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old girl. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residential buildings, a medical facility, a kindergarten and other civilian infrastructure were damaged at more than 20 locations.
Later on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with several European leaders about the attack, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who offered their support. Zelenskyy used the calls to press for stronger action against Moscow.
"Ramping up pressure against Russia's war machine and everybody who props it up is essential to build guaranteed and reliable peace on our continent," he wrote in a post on X, adding he welcomed President Trump's recent turnabout on Ukraine.
"It's important to keep the momentum high. No less important is to accelerate work on security guarantees, which must factor in all challenges and force Russia to end the war and deter any future aggression."
Trump signaled that shift during the U.N. General Assembly in New York last week, saying that after reviewing the military and economic situation, he believed Ukraine could regain all of its territory lost since the start of Russia' invasion 3.5 years ago.
"Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," he wrote on social media, marking a sharp reversal after months of casting doubt on Kyiv's ability to reclaim occupied territory.
"With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option. Why not?"
The latest strikes come just days after Zelenskyy warned U.N. leaders that Moscow's campaign risks fueling a global arms race as each year's new generation of weapons grows deadlier.
"Such attacks are pure terrorism," Zelenskyy said on Sunday. "And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists. Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to go on. It is wrong when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it."
At the UNGA, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted his country does not intend to attack Europe but vowed a "decisive response" to any perceived aggression.
Sunday's assault coincided with parliamentary elections in Moldova, a small nation of 2.4 million on Ukraine's western border.
The vote is widely seen as a referendum on whether the country will continue its push toward the European Union under President Maia Sandu or pivot back toward Moscow's orbit.
Moldovan authorities said they disrupted a Russian-linked plot to incite unrest last week, detaining 74 people. Sandu, a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, has drawn Moscow's ire with her pro-Europe stance and efforts to curb Kremlin influence.
Meanwhile, across parts of Europe, reports of mysterious objects spotted in the skies in recent weeks – most recently over Denmark – have added to regional security concerns.
The sightings have prompted new talks among European defense officials on how to strengthen air defenses and guard against future drone incursions.
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