Missiles hit Kyiv after Russia vows retaliation
May 24, 2026
Russia hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a massive strike of missiles and drones early on Sunday, killing at least one person and wounding more than 20, after it threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
"The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack," Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.
"There are currently reports of at least 4 locations affected by the attack: Shevchenkivsky, Dniprovsky and Podilsky districts. Fires and damage to residential buildings are preliminarily reported," Tkachenko said.
The attack by Russia left several residential buildings damaged across Kyiv.
Debris was on fire on the premises of a school in the city centre, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Russia warns of retaliation
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of Russia's attack against Ukraine using the Oreshnik missile, citing intelligence from Ukraine, the US and Europe.
"We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry," including the Oreshnik, a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.
The warning came after Ukraine had launched a drone barrage in the Russian-occupied east, which Moscow said hit a college dormitory and killed at least 18 people.
However, Ukraine has denied targeting civilians, saying it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area of the Luhansk region.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
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