Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday condemned a "vile" Russian airstrike that lasted more than 12 hours overnight Saturday, killing at least four people in Kyiv.

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday condemned a "vile" Russian airstrike that lasted more than 12 hours overnight Saturday, killing at least four people in Kyiv.

Zelensky, in a post to social media, said Russia used nearly 500 attack drones and more than 40 missiles, including air Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, for "targeted terror" against Ukrainian cities in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa regions. Kyiv was said to be the main target of the attack.

The fatalities included a 12-year-old girl who was "crushed by a concrete slab," Ukrainian authorities said, and more than 70 other people, including children, are reported to have been injured.

The airstrike damaged a building of the Cardiology Institute, as well as a bread-production facility, a tire manufacturing plant, private homes and apartment buildings, and other civilian infrastructure, Zelensky said.

"This vile attack came virtually as the close of U.N. General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world," Zelensky said.

"The Kremlin benefits from continuing this war and terror as long as it earns revenue from energy and operates a shadow fleet. We will continue to strike back to deprive Russia of those revenue streams and to compel it toward diplomacy."

Igor Klymenko, Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, said in a statement on Telegram that more than 1,500 emergency workers and police officers responded to incidents across the country. More than a hundred civilian sites were said to have been damaged.

The Ukrainian Air Force later said on Telegram that the bombardment began around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and that its air defenses detected and tracked a total of 643 aerial targets.

Ukraine's defense forces responded with aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups. By 10:30 a.m., they reported having shot down or neutralized 611 of the 643 threats: 566 attack drones, two Banderol drones, 35 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and all eight Kalibr missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Sunday that it had carried out the airstrike, which it said targeted "military-industrial complex facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

"The strike's objectives were achieved, and all designated targets were hit," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian officials also said Sunday that it had faced a large-scale airstrike from Ukraine, intercepting some 41 drones.