Kyiv: The death toll from a large-scale Russian aerial attack on Ukraine on Thursday rose to 24, including three children, with 48 people injured, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday. Search and rescue operations at the site of a Russian strike on a residential building in the capital Kyiv had been completed, Zelenskyy said through the US social media company X.

According to Anadolu Agency, Zelenskyy noted that the Russians practically demolished an entire section of the building with their missile. He expressed condolences to the victims' families and mentioned that those injured or displaced would receive assistance.

Zelenskyy stated, 'A Russia like this can never be normalized - a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished,' emphasizing the need for pressure. He asserted that Ukraine is defending Europe and the world from such strikes, insisting that support for the defenders of life must continue and that ballistic missile defense is always needed.

Earlier Thursday, Zelenskyy revealed that Russian forces had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukraine since the beginning of Wednesday. Russia's Defense Ministry on Thursday confirmed carrying out massive overnight airstrikes, claiming the attacks targeted Ukraine's military infrastructure in response to Kyiv's strikes on Russian energy facilities.