Russia launched one of its biggest combined drone and ballistic missiles strikes on Kyiv overnight Friday, causing fatalities, Ukrainian authorities have said.
Many people were also injured and video shared on social media showed explosions, buildings on fire and the aftermath of the strikes. Russia also attacked several other regions in Ukraine.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
The strikes took place only hours after Russia and Ukraine each handed over 390 prisoners of war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted footage of the strikes’ aftermath and said they showed that Moscow has no intentions of ending the war.
What To Know
On Saturday, Zelensky posted on X how missile and drone fragments were being cleared up in Kyiv, where rescue and emergency operations were ongoing.
“There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones,” he wrote, without specifying how many people had died.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones. Defenses managed to down six ballistic missiles and 128 drones, while another 117 drones disappeared from radar and were thwarted by electronic warfare, the statement said.
Fragments of Russian missiles and drones are being cleared in Kyiv. Rescue and emergency operations are ongoing at the sites of strikes and debris impacts — wherever they are needed. There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings,… pic.twitter.com/F3szA4gCJz
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 24, 2025
The capital was the main target but missiles also hit the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said that drone wreckage fell in several locations, causing injuries and damage to cars.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a building had caught fire in the city’s Solomianskyi district. Local officials said at least 15 people had been injured and drone wreckage fell in multiple locations. A shopping center was damaged in the Obolonskyi district.
Zelensky’s post said that the attack showed Moscow wants to prolong the war it started and that Ukraine’s proposal for a ceasefire, “both a full one and one in the skies…has been ignored.”
He called for further sanctions from the U.S., Europe and all Kyiv’s allies saying that only targeting key sectors of the Russian economy would force a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones targeted a military site site in the city of Yelets in Russia’s Lipetsk region, according to the ASTRA and SHOT Telegram channels.
The Energiya plant, which makes batteries and supplies the Russian defense ministry, was targeted on Friday in a second drone attack on the facility in two days. Local residents reported explosions, with drone debris damaging apartment blocks.
What People Are Saying
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X: “It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine — 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian “Shaheds,” and 14 ballistic missiles…all strikes targeted civilians.”
What Happens Next
The combined drone and missile attack signals that Moscow has no intention of slowing down its strikes on Ukrainian territory suggesting no imminent breakthrough in ceasefire negotiations.
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