RUSSIA launched a large-scale drone assault on Kiev over the weekend, killing three people and injuring at least 29, including seven children, Ukrainian authorities said today. 

It was the second consecutive night of deadly strikes on the capital.

Interior minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed that a 19-year-old woman and her 46-year-old mother were among the victims. 

Fires broke out in two residential buildings in Kiev’s Desnianskyi district after drones hit the area. 

Emergency services evacuated residents from a nine-storey and a 16-storey block, extinguished the flames, and cleared debris.

“Even until now our windows are totally black from the smoke,” said 74-year-old resident Olha Yevhenivha, describing how she survived by sealing her apartment with wet blankets.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 101 drones overnight, of which 90 were intercepted. 

The attack followed a deadly missile and drone strike a day earlier, which killed four people, prompting renewed calls from President Volodymyr Zelensky for Western air defence support.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had hit energy and rail infrastructure used for Ukraine’s military operations, but did not address civilian casualties. 

In Russia’s Bryansk region near the border, a civilian woman was injured when a Ukrainian drone struck her car, local officials said.

Separately, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had successfully tested a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, the Burevestnik, which reportedly flew 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) during a 15-hour test. 

When Mr Putin first revealed that Russia was working on the weapon in 2018, he claimed it would have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe undetected by missile defence systems.

Western experts remain sceptical of its reliability, saying its nuclear propulsion system could pose serious environmental risks.