KYIV, UKRAINE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that a Russian missile attack on a Kyiv apartment building the previous day killed 24 people, including three teenagers, according to local officials. Emergency workers completed their search of the building's rubble after more than a day, Zelenskyy announced on the social media platform X.
Massive Russian Barrage Targets Kyiv
The cruise missile struck a nine-story corner building during what the Ukrainian air force described as Russia's largest aerial assault since the full-scale invasion began. The attack primarily targeted the Ukrainian capital, where 48 people were wounded, including two children, Zelenskyy noted.
Russia launched large-scale aerial attacks in the days following a May 9-11 ceasefire that US President Donald Trump said he requested from both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. While fighting continued during those 72 hours, it was reportedly on a lesser scale.
Conflict Shows No Signs of Ending
This week's attacks contradicted recent suggestions from Trump and Putin that the war, now in its fifth year, is nearing its conclusion. Zelenskyy stated Thursday that Moscow had deployed more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centers since Wednesday. In total, approximately 180 sites across the country sustained damage, including over 50 residential buildings.
Previously, the largest Russian drone attack occurred from the evening of March 23 to March 24, when Russian forces launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine has also bolstered its long-range capabilities. Russia's Defense Ministry reported Friday that air defenses shot down 355 drones overnight in one of the largest Ukrainian drone strikes of the war.
Ukrainian Drone Attack on Ryazan
Several airports suspended flights overnight due to the attacks. Additionally, a Ukrainian drone strike on Ryazan, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Moscow, killed four people, including a child, according to Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov. Following the attack, large plumes of black smoke rose from a fire at a local oil refinery. Ukraine has targeted Russian oil facilities to deny Moscow vital export revenue and unsettle the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials offered no immediate comment on the Ryazan strike.
Day of Mourning in Kyiv
The Ukrainian capital observed an official day of mourning Friday in memory of those killed Thursday, and Zelenskyy visited the site. The cruise missile that hit the apartment building was manufactured in the second quarter of this year, Zelenskyy said, apparently after Ukrainian experts examined the wreckage.
"This means Russia is still importing the components, resources, and equipment necessary for missile production in circumvention of global sanctions," Zelenskyy stated in another post on X late Thursday. "Stopping Russia's sanctions evasion schemes must be a genuine priority for all our partners," he added.
Prisoner Exchange
Russia and Ukraine have continued to occasionally swap prisoners of war, and 205 from each country returned home Friday. Zelenskyy described this as the first phase of a planned 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange. Some of the released Ukrainians had been held in Russian captivity since 2022 and had fought in some of the war's most intense battles. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the exchange and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping broker it.
