Russian strikes hit residential buildings in Kyiv and Kharkiv Oblast, killing four

Russian strikes killed four people in Kyiv and the Kharkiv Oblast overnight on 21 October 2026, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported. Casualties were also reported in the Poltava Oblast, the Rivne Oblast and Odesa, with three children, three emergency responders and an ambulance paramedic among the injured.

Aftermath of Russian strike in Ukraine’s capital

In Kyiv, a morning Russian attack set fire to an apartment on the 20th floor of a high-rise residential building in the Sviatoshynskyi district. The fire covered about 70 sq m and partially destroyed structural elements of the apartment. Rescuers found the bodies of two people while clearing the rubble.

In the Desnianskyi district, seven parked cars caught fire, and emergency crews extinguished the blaze over an area of 50 sq m. In the Solomianskyi district, a falling object was recorded in an open area.

In the Kharkiv Oblast, Russian drones attacked a residential neighbourhood in the settlement of Korotych in the Kharkiv district. Private houses and outbuildings were destroyed or damaged. Emergency responders recovered the bodies of a man and a woman from the rubble of one house. A fire also broke out in an outbuilding at another location.

Aftermath of Russian strike in Kharkiv Oblast

Russian attacks also affected 11 people in the Kharkiv Oblast, including two children. Rescuers, deminers, canine handlers and hromada rescue officers worked at the scene despite the threat of repeated strikes.

In the Poltava Oblast, Russian forces attacked Kremenchuk and the regional centre. In Kremenchuk, a strike on the grounds of Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University set fire to the fifth floor of an academic building. Preliminary reports indicate two civilians were injured, including a 16-year-old child who was taken to hospital.

Aftermath of Russian strike in Poltava Oblast

In Poltava, strikes caused fires in an administrative building and a warehouse.

In total, three people were injured in the Poltava Oblast, according to the State Emergency Service.

Aftermath of Russian strike in Rivne Oblast

In the Rivne Oblast, Russian forces repeatedly attacked one of the region’s hypermarkets on 20 October. The strikes caused a large blaze, exacerbated by a high fire load and the threat of repeat attacks, forcing emergency responders to retreat to safe areas.

Four people were injured in the attack, three of whom were taken to the hospital. The fire was extinguished.

Aftermath of Russian strike in Odesa Oblast

In Odesa, an unknown object exploded on the evening of 20 October in a seven-storey apartment block in the Prymorskyi district, causing a major fire and destruction in apartments. A secondary explosion occurred as firefighters were working at the scene.

Four people were injured, including three rescuers and an ambulance paramedic.

State Emergency Service psychologists assisted 11 people who were at the scene.

To provide background, overnight on 20 October, Russian forces attacked Ukraine. Two women were killed and two other people were injured in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast. In Kyiv Oblast, four people were killed and six injured in a strike. The Kharkiv and Odesa oblasts were also attacked by Russia.

Previously, US President Donald Trump assisted Russia in enforcing its war economy by suspending tariffs and sanctions against the largest buyers of Russian oil. The measures were provided under the
Lindsey Graham Act, which he signed in September.

Reuters reported that Russian diesel cargoes are returning to their ​traditional destinations after Trump suspended sanctions and secured the lifting of an export ban, with at least two tankers ‌signalling trips to Türkiye and Brazil lately, according to shipping data from Kpler and LSEG.

Related: US firms account for over 75% of parts in examined Geran-4 controller

Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Related: Russia has opened criminal cases against 1,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war, rights group head says

To provide background, on 9 October, the United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an institution. The court had previously issued arrest warrants for:​

• Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia (March 2023);
• military officials Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov over strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure (March 2024);
• Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to missile strikes on Ukraine’s electric infrastructure between 10 October 2022 and 9 March 2023 (June 2024).

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