On the night of 23-24 May, Russia launched a massive drone and missile assault on Ukraine, injuring dozens of people with the most damage sustained in the capital Kyiv.
The large-scale assault involved 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles launched from Russian territories including Taganrog, Yeisk, and Bryansk, as well as occupied Crimea, according to Ukrainian Air Force.
The attack also included 250 Shahed-type strike drones and decoy unmanned aircraft of various types, with Kyiv identified as the primary target. The coordinated strike affected multiple oblasts including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Donetsk.
Ukrainian air defense systems successfully intercepted 6 ballistic missiles over Kyiv and neutralized 245 enemy drones across eastern, northern, southern, and central Ukraine. Of the destroyed drones, 128 were shot down by fire weapons while 117 were electronically suppressed or lost.
According to Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko, this represented “one of the most massive combined attacks” by Russian forces.
“The enemy is improving its own drone tactics, simultaneously striking with ballistics,” Tkachenko stated.
Russian attack injures 15 civilians in Kyiv
The assault on Kyiv began at 9:54 p.m. on 23 May when air raid alerts were declared due to incoming Russian drones. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that more than 20 Russian drones approached the capital from three directions through Brovary, Vyshhorod, and Boryspil districts.
Fifteen people were injured across the capital, according to the National Police, with damage recorded in six districts by 8:00 a.m.
The attack damaged residential buildings in Dniprovskyi, Solomianskyi and Obolonskyi districts, as well as a shopping and entertainment center, educational institutions, and 8 cars.
In Solomianskyi district, drone debris struck an apartment on the fifth floor, causing a fire to break out. Seven people aged 35 to 63 sustained various injuries in this incident.
Dniprovskyi district saw a married couple, aged 40 and 41, injured when debris flew into their fifth-floor apartment.
Obolon district sustained the most extensive damage, with debris striking a 9-story residential building and damaging 4 floors. Apartments on floors 3-6 were destroyed. Five people sought medical help in this district, with two requiring evacuation.
One resident, Vanda Bondarenko, described her experience from the eighth floor of a damaged building. She had previously taped her windows in 2022 as a precaution, leaving only one balcony window uncovered.
“I thought it would somehow pass by, but then I heard a boom, and glass flew on the balcony. I wanted to jump out, but there was smoke in the corridor. I immediately turned off the lights. I was on the eighth floor. So I waited until the guys [rescuers] came up, I turned on a flashlight. Thanks to them, I got down. I’m more or less okay, thank God. But what happened to people – it’s terrible,” the woman told Suspilne media outlet.
Civilians and their homes injured in Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast experienced attacks on six settlements during the previous 24-hour period, resulting in multiple civilian casualties.
According to regional authorities, the bombardment killed four people and injured eight others across several communities.
In Kupiansk, two 60-year-old men died while a 49-year-old man sustained injuries. The city of Chuhuiv lost a 33-year-old woman, with a 58-year-old man and 67-year-old woman also wounded. Staryi Saltiv village reported injuries to two men aged 45 and 47. In Vilkhuvatka village, a 78-year-old woman was killed and two women aged 61 and 80 were injured.
Russian forces employed diverse weaponry, including three missiles, four guided aerial bombs, two FPV drones, six Geran-2 type drones, and nine additional unmanned aircraft of unspecified types.
The attacks caused significant infrastructure damage across three districts. Kupiansk district saw 10 private homes damaged along with a municipal enterprise building, two vehicles, and warehouse facilities. In Chuhuiv district, a private residence, warehouse, and truck crane sustained damage. Izium district reported damage to three private houses.
