A major Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4, injures 27

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv early Friday, killing four people, starting fires and scattering debris across many districts of the capital, Ukrainian authorities said.

At least 27 people were injured as emergency crews responded to multiple strikes during the night, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration. At least 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the attack across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He said the attack, which also targeted Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast, was mostly aimed at Kyiv, where drones and missiles smashed into high-rise apartment blocks.

“A specially calculated attack to cause as much harm as possible to people and civilians,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. He added the Azerbaijan Embassy was damaged by fragments of an Iskander missile.

Moscow officials deny they target civilian areas, but Ukrainian officials dismiss that claim.

Friday's attack was the biggest on Kyiv in almost three weeks. Most recent Russian aerial attacks have aimed at electricity infrastructure around the country ahead of the bitter winter months.

Fifteen people were hospitalized, including one man in critical condition and a pregnant woman, after a series of powerful explosions echoed across the city and air defenses were activated.

Kyiv residents told of harrowing escapes and near misses in the dead of night.

Mariia Kalchenko said it was a miracle she survived after her building was hit.

“I didn’t hear anything, I just realized that my hair was on fire,” the 46-year-old volunteer rescue dog handler told The Associated Press.

She turned on her flashlight and saw that her dog had moved away in fright. “I turned around and saw that there was no wall, and there was a neighbor’s apartment, the neighbor was screaming, there was no door, and the flames were going from the front door into the apartment,” she said.

Oleh Hudyma, 59, said she became aware of the attack and intended to go to a bomb shelter but she wasn’t quick enough.

“I got up, got dressed, went out, and there was an explosion. I couldn’t hear the (drone) engine running, just an explosion, flames, everything flew,” she said. “I was in the kitchen and just fell to the floor.”

City authorities warned that power and water outages are possible.

Eight of the capital's 10 districts reported damage. Emergency crews fought fires in apartment blocks, debris from explosions was strewn across yards and cars parked in the streets were set ablaze.

In the wider Kyiv region, Russian strikes damaged critical infrastructure and private homes, injuring at least one civilian, the head of the regional military administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said. A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva suffered burns and was hospitalized, he said. Fires broke out in private houses in the capital's suburbs.

The strike came as European Union officials warned this week that Ukraine must continue to crack down on corruption following a major graft scandal that has put top nuclear energy officials under scrutiny. But they also offered assurances that aid will continue to flow as Kyiv strains to hold back Russia’s invasion.

In response to Russia’s continuing onslaught, Ukraine has launched its own domestically developed drones and missiles against targets on Russian soil, especially oil refineries and depots that provide Moscow with income and manufacturing plants that supply the armed forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that its air defense forces shot down 216 Ukrainian drones overnight over a number of Russian regions and annexed Crimea.

Most drones — 66 — were intercepted over the southern Krasnodar region that borders Crimea. A total of 45 drones were destroyed over the Saratov region deeper inside Russia. Another 19 were shot down over Crimea.

In Novorossiysk, a port city in the Krasnodar region, the attack damaged an oil depot at the Sheskharis transshipment complex, as well as unidentified “coastal structures,” local authorities said. According to the Meduza independent news outlet, Sheskharis is one of the largest oil loading complexes for transshipment of oil and oil products in the south of Russia. It is managed by Transneft.

Falling drone debris also damaged a civilian vessel in the port, and three crew members have been hospitalized with injuries. Several residential buildings were also damaged, and a man from one of those buildings was hospitalized with injuries.

In the Saratov region, Gov. Roman Busargin said that the attack damage unspecified “civilian infrastructure.” Unconfirmed media reports say that an oil refinery was hit.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Rescuers work on the scene of a building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Rescuers work on the scene of a building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A residential building is seen damaged after a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Municipal workers look at a residential building damaged after a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

An apartment is seen damaged after a Russian attack on residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People hide in a metro station, being used as a bomb shelter, during a Russian drones attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

In this image taken from video, an explosion is seen in the distance as a Russian attack targets Ukraine's Kyiv region on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.(AP Photo)

In this image taken from video, an explosion is seen in the distance as a Russian attack targets Ukraine's Kyiv region on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.(AP Photo)

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of the Hajj.

Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and surrounding plain for intense prayers and worship that often mark a spiritual peak for them. They fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplications. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health.

The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it.

For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade.

A Saudi official said on Friday that more than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in the country from abroad.

This year, Muslims have been pouring into Saudi Arabia for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related uncertainty in the region.

The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats used to lay mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely." Iran on Tuesday denounced the most recent U.S. strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations pressed on toward a possible deal to end the war.

For many, performing the Hajj can be a realization of a lifelong dream as they spend years hoping and praying to one day be able to undertake the pilgrimage or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.

“This happens once in a lifetime,” Mohammad Asal, an Egyptian pilgrim, said. “People here have prepared their prayers, hoping that God will respond to them, because we know that ... the most important ritual of the Hajj is being in Arafat.”

The Hajj brings together large numbers of Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and socioeconomic classes, creating a sense of unity for many. It’s a mass, communal experience, with Muslims performing rituals together. But it is also deeply personal, as every pilgrim brings their own yearnings and experiences.

“It was incredible,” Ahmed Sufyan, a pilgrim from the United States, said on Tuesday. “The unity and peace that we feel is something I’ve never experienced before,” he added via WhatsApp.

“Our wishes are many,” Mohammad Obaid, a Sudanese pilgrim, said, adding he was praying for Sudan and Muslims everywhere.

Fam reported from Winter Park, Florida.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A Muslim pilgrim pray atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims walk towards the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims are silhouetted as they pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Muslim pilgrims read a copy of Islam's holy book Quran atop of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)