Russia’s massive missile and drone assault kills at least 12 civilians, injures 52, between two prisoner swaps

Russia launched a massive overnight aerial assault on Ukraine on Sunday, 25 May, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 50, according to local authorities and emergency services. The attack came just several hours after a prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow. Several more hours after the Russian deadly attack, another POW swap took place.

Commenting on the Russian assault, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said:

“Every such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go into the weekend, but the war continues, regardless of weekends or weekdays. This cannot be ignored. America’s silence, and the silence of others around the world, only encourages Putin.”

Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement that Russia used 367 aerial weapons, including:

• 298 Shahed-type strike UAVs and decoy drones launched from five locations in Russia
• 9 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles (from Kursk Oblast)
• 55 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles (launched from Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers from Russia’s Saratov Oblast and the Black Sea)
• 1 Kh-22 cruise missile (from Tu-22M3 aircraft over the Black Sea)
• 4 Kh-59/69 guided missiles (from the north)

According to the Air Force, “266 enemy UAVs of the Shahed type and other drones were neutralized,” including 139 shot down by direct fire and 127 suppressed or jammed by electronic warfare. 45 Kh-101 and Kalibr missiles were downed. Two Kh-59/69 missiles were “locationally lost.”

Ukrainian military-linked airspace monitoring channel Nikolaevsky Vanyok noted that the Russian attack’s objective were the locations, where, in Russia’s opinion, Ukraine’s military industrial facilities are concentrated. The channel wrote:

“Unfortunately, based on the information I have, in various regions the main strikes hit civilian infrastructure — that is, residential buildings. Basically, as always. In Mykolaiv, two floors were blown off a five-story apartment block.”

The channel added:

“In the morning, expect the usual Russian croaking about ‘all targets hit,’ ‘strictly military facilities,’ and so on — go take a look at those ‘military targets’ yourselves in the morning.”

He also criticized the diminished Western supplies to Ukraine, stating:

“The interception statistics are mediocre. Apparently, we’re running out of missiles to defend ourselves — many thanks to our ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’ American partners.”

Regional impact: strikes, deaths, and destruction across Ukraine

Russia’s combined drone and missile assault overnight on 25 May left at least 12 people dead and 52 injured across multiple regions of Ukraine, with both urban centers and civilian infrastructure hit. Strikes were confirmed in at least 22 locations, with missile or drone debris reported in 15 others, according to emergency services, local authorities, and the Air Force. Zelenskyy said that “rescuers operated in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and villages following the massive Russian strike.”

Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast

The Ukrainian capital came under heavy Russian air attack for the second consecutive day, once again serving as a primary target in the ongoing aerial campaign. In Kyiv, 11 people were injured by Russia’s drone debris attack. Debris crashed across the Holosiivskyi, Dniprovskyi, Desnianskyi, and Shevchenkivskyi districts, the City Military Administration reported.

In Kyiv Oblast, four people were killed and 16 injured, including three children. The Regional Military Administration confirmed damage in the Brovary, Bila Tserkva, Bucha, and Obukhiv districts. Two victims were found during firefighting operations in Obukhiv, while another died in Bucha.

Zhytomyr Oblast

Three children — aged 8, 12, and 17 — were killed, and 12 others injured in Zhytomyr Oblast. Several one-family homes and residential buildings were damaged. The body of one child was recovered from under rubble in Berdychiv district.

Khmelnytskyi Oblast

Four people were killed and five injured in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. The regional administration reported the destruction of six detached houses and damage to over 20 others. A school and public transport infrastructure also sustained damage.

Mykolaiv

A 77-year-old man was killed and five others injured when drones struck Mykolaiv. Two upper floors of a multi-story apartment building were destroyed. Nearby buildings and infrastructure, including office premises and power lines, were also hit. Two women were rescued from the rubble.

Kharkiv

In Kharkiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, three people were injured, including one child. A drone strike hit an office building and shattered windows in nearby apartment blocks.

Ternopil Oblast

Missiles hit an industrial site on the outskirts of Ternopil. No casualties were reported, but residential buildings nearby sustained window damage.

Sumy and Konotop

In Sumy, Russian forces twice struck a food processing plant with drones. In Konotop, both missiles and drones were used. No injuries or deaths were reported in either case.

Odesa

In Odesa, 20 vehicles caught fire at a parking lot located between residential buildings. No injuries were reported.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

In Dnipro, a drone strike set fire to a three-story building. In Pavlohrad, a local industrial enterprise was damaged by Shahed drones and missiles. Additional strikes were reported in Synelnykove and Nikopol, but no casualty details were provided.