Kyiv: A cruise missile that leveled a nine-story apartment block in Kyiv has left 24 people dead, including three teenagers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday, as the capital grieved one of the deadliest single strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion began four years ago, AP reported.
The missile struck the building on Thursday during what Ukraine’s air force described as Russia’s largest barrage in the conflict to date. Rescue crews completed a day-and-a-half of searching through the rubble for survivors, Zelenskyy said on X, and crowds — many of them children — gathered at a makeshift memorial beneath a tree near the ruined block.
Grief At Site
Groups of teenagers arrived clutching bouquets, their faces breaking into tears as they approached a growing pile of flowers and toys beside photos of the victims. A portrait of a girl in a school uniform, posed against a bright yellow backdrop, was among the one of the several images placed at the memorial.
Zelenskyy, other senior Ukrainian officials and Kyiv-based foreign diplomats visited the scene to pay respects, drawing large numbers of mourners who streamed past the memorial. The attack also wounded 48 people in the capital, including two children, Zelenskyy said.
Intensified Aerial Attacks
The assault came amid intensified aerial attacks across Ukraine following a May 9-11 ceasefire period that US President Donald Trump said he had asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe. Despite those calls, fighting continued during the 72-hour pause, though reportedly at a lower intensity.
Zelenskyy said Moscow launched more than 1,560 drones against populated areas beginning Wednesday and that about 180 sites nationwide were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings.
Earlier, on March 23–24, Ukraine was hit by almost 1,000 drones and missiles — the biggest attack so far. The deaths in Kyiv on Thursday were nearly as many as in a July 2024 strike that killed 32 people and wounded 85.
Both sides can now strike much farther. Russia said its air defenses shot down 355 Ukrainian drones overnight during another big attack, and several airports stopped flights because of the strikes.
Cross-border strikes
In a significant strike inside Russia, a Ukrainian drone hit Ryazan, about 100 km southeast of Moscow, killing four people, including a child, regional Governor Pavel Malkov said. Plumes of black smoke rose from a fire at an oil refinery; Ukraine has been targeting Russian oil facilities to try to cut Moscow’s revenue and unsettle the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment on the Ryazan strike.
Experts who checked the Kyiv wreckage say the cruise missile was made in the second quarter of this year, which points to Russia still getting parts and equipment despite sanctions.
Prisoner swap amid the fighting
Even as attacks intensified, Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 205 prisoners of war on Friday, the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side, Zelenskyy said. Some of the returned Ukrainians had been detained since 2022 and had fought in some of the conflict’s fiercest battles. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping to broker it.
