In one of the most intense overnight attacks on Ukraine’s capital this year, Russia unleashed a large-scale aerial assault on Kyiv in the early hours of Sunday, targeting residential buildings, schools, offices and public infrastructure.
Kyiv, May 24, 2026 — Explosions tore through Kyiv just after 1 a.m. local time as Russia launched a coordinated wave of missiles and drones at the Ukrainian capital. At least one person was killed and 21 others were injured, with 13 hospitalised — three of them in serious condition, according to city officials.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed via Telegram that a nine-storey residential building in the central Shevchenko district took a direct hit, killing one resident. Emergency crews rushed to the site to battle the resulting blaze.
Oreshnik Missile Threat Loomed Over the Attack
Before the strikes began, Ukraine’s air force had warned on its Telegram channel that Russia might deploy its Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile during the assault. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had flagged the threat a day earlier, citing intelligence from Ukrainian, American and European sources.
Russia has previously used the Oreshnik missile twice against Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has publicly described it as impossible to intercept, pointing to its reported speed of over ten times the speed of sound. Whether the Oreshnik was used in Sunday’s attack remained unconfirmed, as Ukraine’s air force did not issue a statement on the matter.
Dozens of Locations Hit Across the City
Kyiv’s military administration head reported damage to more than 40 locations across the city. Strikes hit offices, shops, schools and the entrance foyer of a metro station. In the city’s historic Independence Square, a post office was damaged by an explosion.
In one of the most alarming incidents, several people were trapped inside an air raid shelter at a school in the Shevchenko district after debris from a nearby strike blocked its entrance. More residents were reported trapped in a shelter beneath a business centre in the same area.
Three additional people were injured in the broader Kyiv region, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.
Residents Spent the Night Underground
As sirens wailed through the night, thousands of Kyiv residents fled to underground metro stations seeking shelter. Nataliia Zvarych, 62, described the harrowing experience of sitting in a station for over three hours as the explosions continued overhead.
Air raid sirens sounded again after sunrise on Sunday, keeping much of the city on edge well into the morning.
Daylight Reveals Extent of Destruction
As dawn broke over Kyiv, thick black smoke from multiple fires drifted across the city’s skyline. The front facade of a five-storey residential building in Shevchenko district had completely collapsed. Firefighters worked to douse the flames while rescue teams evacuated the injured from the rubble.
Context: Putin’s Retaliation Order
The attack followed a direct order from Putin to his military to prepare retaliation options after a Ukrainian drone struck a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine on Friday. The strike killed at least ten people, according to Russian-installed officials.
Ukraine’s military denied targeting the dormitory, stating that its forces had struck a Russian drone command unit in the area.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Poland activated its military aviation in response to the large-scale strikes but confirmed that no violations of Polish airspace were detected.
