Clashes between Russia and Ukraine continue at an unrelenting pace, as new nighttime attacks were recorded on Sunday (24/05). Specifically, Russian forces struck Ukrainian targets using 4 types of missiles (Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon) in retaliation for Kyiv’s strikes against civilian targets in Russia, state news agencies reported. The attacks, which were all successful according to the Russian side, were carried out against Ukrainian military command centers, air bases and other facilities of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, the Interfax agency reported citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
New Russian attack against Ukraine
The massive Russian missile and drone attack hit Kyiv during the night, causing powerful explosions, the death of at least four people and the injury of many more, according to Ukrainian authorities. The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, reported that seven injured are hospitalized, while confirming that a school in the Shevchenkivskyi district was hit and that debris from another strike fell at the entrance of a shelter near a second school complex, where residents had taken refuge for protection.
Reuters was not in a position to independently verify information from the battlefield.
What Zelensky reported
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least 83 people were injured in the attack, which was carried out with 600 drones and 90 missiles. Ukraine had expected a major attack, following the drone attack on Starobilsk, in the Russian-occupied eastern region of the country, which, according to Moscow, hit a college dormitory and caused the death of at least 18 people.
The drone attack, which took place overnight from Thursday to Friday, was one of the deadliest Ukrainian attacks in recent months and injured another 42 people in the city in the occupied Luhansk region. Ukraine denied targeting civilians, claiming it hit a Russian drone unit located in the area.
Russian Foreign Ministry warned of inevitable and severe punishment
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that those responsible will face “inevitable and severe punishment.” On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine “sees signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv.” Meanwhile, the US embassy reported that it “has received information regarding a possible significant air attack, which could happen at any moment within the next 24 hours.”
Kaja Kallas: “Abhorrent acts of terror aimed at killing as many civilians as possible”
At the same time, Russia’s latest attacks against Ukraine provoked an immediate reaction from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “Russia hit a dead-end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres. These are abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible,” Kallas wrote on X. “Moscow reportedly using Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles – systems designed to carry nuclear warheads and this constitutes a policy of intimidation tactics and reckless nuclear brinkmanship,” Kallas emphasized.
Russia hit a dead-end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres.
These are abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible.
Moscow reportedly using Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles – systems designed…
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) May 24, 2026
