Russians kill 12 and injure over 60 people in largest attack on Ukraine to date

Russians killed 12 people and injured more than 60 on the night of May 24-25 in Russia’s largest ever combined attack on Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Minister of Interior, Ihor Klymenko. The attack was the second large-scale assault on Ukraine within a 48-hour period, coming a day after the Ukrainian capital Kyiv suffered one of the heaviest assaults since the onset of the full-scale invasion by the Russians.

Russian armed forces attacked 13 Ukrainian regions: Kyiv city, Kyiv Oblast, as well as the Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyy, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, and Poltava Oblasts.

More than 80 residential buildings have been damaged. Firefighters have recorded 27 fires and are still working to contain the flames at three locations.

“As of now, more than 70 people have been affected: 12 have been killed and more than 60 injured. Among the dead are three children from the same family in Zhytomyr Oblast. Their parents are in the hospital; their mother is in a serious condition,” the minister wrote. 

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that only in the Kyiv Oblast, four people were killed and 16 injured, including three children.

In the Zhytomyr region, three children from the Martyniuk family were killed as a result of a strike: eight-year-old Stanislav, 12-year-old Tamara, and 17-year-old Roman, as reported by the Gustav Olizar Lyceum No. 1 in Korostyshiv, where the children studied.

“Today, as a result of a brutal night attack, we lost three of our children. Students of our lyceum – eleventh-grader Roman, sixth-grader Tamara, and third-grader Stanislav – will no longer come to their classes, sit at their desks, or smile at their friends […] The war cut everything short,” the educational institution wrote.

The teachers of the deceased children said that Roman was soon to graduate from school. As reported by Klymenko, the deceased children were from the same family. Their parents were also injured in the strike and are now in the hospital. The children’s mother sustained severe injuries.

At the school where the children studied, a fundraiser has been launched to help the family.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on Sunday morning that rescuers were working in more than 30 cities and villages after the “massive” strike.

“Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day,” he said.

“The world may go on for a weekend, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored,” he added.

Ukraine is again urging its allies to apply more pressure on Moscow to engage in an unconditional ceasefire.

“Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this cruelty cannot be stopped,” the President of Ukraine said, calling for fresh sanctions.

Zelensky added, “America’s silence will only encourage Putin” – an apparent effort to exert pressure on US President Donald Trump, who has said the Russian leader is interested in ending the war.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, called on the international community to intensify pressure on Russia to immediately agree to a ceasefire.

“When the whole world calls for an end to the killings, Putin orders even more strikes, attacks, and killings of children,” the Foreign Minister stressed and emphasised: this once again underscores the need for a full, unconditional, and lasting ceasefire for any meaningful peace efforts.

“The world must pressure Russia to agree to this and immediately stop the killings,” he added.

Russia is able not only to manufacture them at a faster rate, but they are also evolving. Shahed drones are now being packed with more explosives and improved technology to evade detection.

Ukraine’s Air Force said that since 20:40 on Saturday local time, Russia had carried out strikes using 367 missiles of various types, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones. The air force said it had shot down 45 cruise missiles and neutralised 266 UAVs, with most regions in Ukraine affected and hits recorded in 22 locations.

US President Donald Trump carried out a 2.5-hour call with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, and talked about the Russian war against the Ukrainian People on May 19. Afterwards, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of the EU. This talk failed to ensure an unconditional ceasefire.