‘A ruthless strike aimed at civilians’ At least 12 dead, over 60 injured in one of Russia’s largest air assaults on Ukraine

On the night of May 24-25, Russian forces launched nearly 300 drones and 70 missiles in one of the largest air assaults on Ukraine since the start of the war, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 60.

According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, 13 regions came under attack: Kyiv, the surrounding Kyiv region, and the Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, and Poltava regions.

In Kyiv, 11 people were injured, city officials said. Several residential buildings across the capital were damaged, including a dormitory, a house, and multi-story apartment buildings.

In the Kyiv region, emergency officials reported four deaths and said 16 people were injured, including three children.

In the Zhytomyr region, three children from one family were killed. The siblings — eight-year-old Stanislav, 12-year-old Tamara, and 17-year-old Roman Martyniuk — lived in the city of Korostyshiv.

Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said the children’s parents were injured in the attack and remain hospitalized. Their mother is in critical condition, according to doctors.

A total of 12 people in the region, including one child, were injured, according to the latest reports.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, four people were killed and five wounded. One of the injured remains in critical condition, according to doctors. Six homes were destroyed and more than 20 others damaged.

In Mykolaiv, a drone struck a five-story apartment building. Emergency workers recovered the body of a man from beneath the rubble. Five others, including a teenager, were injured. Two women were pulled from the debris; one was hospitalized in serious condition.

In Ternopil, a cruise missile struck an industrial site, igniting a fire. No casualties have been reported.

In the Chernihiv region, drone and missile strikes started fires at warehouses and other non-residential buildings. No deaths or injuries were reported.

In the Sumy region, drones struck a food processing facility in the city of Sumy, damaging the roof and sparking a fire. The city of Konotop was also hit. Mayor Artem Semenikhin said an “already damaged infrastructure site was completely destroyed.”

In the Odesa region, a Russian strike set fire to a parking lot in a residential neighborhood, burning 20 vehicles. Emergency crews managed to quickly contain the blaze, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

In Kharkiv, strikes hit several neighborhoods, damaging apartment buildings in one and injuring three people, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, drones and missiles damaged several sites, including an industrial facility in the city of Pavlohrad, according to Governor Serhiy Lysak. A fire broke out but was quickly contained. No injuries were reported.

“Another terrible night for Ukraine,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram. “This was a combined and ruthless strike aimed at civilians. Once again, the enemy has shown that its goal is fear and death.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had carried out “deliberate strikes on ordinary cities,” destroying and damaging homes.

“Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored.”

He urged world leaders to impose new sanctions against Moscow. “Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage[s] Putin,” Zelensky wrote. “Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help.”

Update: Russia’s Defense Ministry said the target of its large-scale strike on Ukraine was defense industry facilities. In a statement, the ministry claimed that the attack used “high-precision weapons” to hit sites involved in producing “missile system components, radio electronics, explosives, rocket fuel, and strike UAVs” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as “radio intelligence and satellite communications centers.” “The objectives of the strike were achieved. All designated targets were hit,” the ministry said.