Russian missile strike on Ternopil: 230 rescuers search for 22 missing as death toll reaches 26

Over 230 rescuers from nine oblasts continue searching through rubble at a Ternopil residential building struck by a Russian cruise missile on 19 November, with 22 people still unaccounted for as of 20 November morning.

The strike killed 26 people, including three children, and injured 93 others, among them 18 children, according to Ukrainian emergency services. Rescuers saved 46 people from the damaged nine-story building.

"Our rescuers have been working in Ternopil all night, and search-and-rescue operations continue," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his morning address. "22 people remain unaccounted for — the search continues."

Working around the clock, rescue teams cleared over 700 square meters of debris and removed 230 cubic meters of destroyed structures. Fifty units of equipment support the operation.

"High fragmentation of structures, massive destruction, and the need to work exclusively by hand in several areas complicate the work," emergency services reported.

Ukrainian Air Force investigators recovered missile fragments by 4:00 pm on 19 November, identifying the weapon as a Kh-101 cruise missile manufactured in the fourth quarter of 2025. The missile carried a 450-kilogram warhead containing components from the United States, China, Taiwan, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to the Air Force.

Russia launched the strike using six Tu-95MS strategic bombers from Olenya airbase and four Tu-160MS bombers from Engels and Ukrainka airbases, with launch zones in Vologda and Astrakhan oblasts.

Moscow planned to manufacture 633 Kh-101 missiles in 2025, with an additional 223 units scheduled for 2026, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports.

Modern air defense systems, including IRIS-T and Patriot, can intercept such missiles, Ukrainian officials note.

"It is critically important that during these difficult days, despite all Russian attacks and terror, our people always know they can count on rescue and help," Zelenskyy said.

The search-and-rescue operation continues with teams from across Ukraine working at the site.