The assault, which lasted some ten hours, involved a coordinated barrage of drones, ballistic, and cruise missiles - and severely impacted residential areas, including a direct hit on a nine-story apartment building in the city's Solomyanskyi district.

Part of the building collapsed after being struck by Shahed drones and a ballistic missile. Emergency crews were responding to the smoke-filled scene through the morning hours.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that "every minute the number of injured and dead is increasing, we cannot say for certain how many casualties there have been."