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Editor's note: The article was expanded with comments from Kyiv residents.
Multiple people were injured as multiple waves of explosions rocked Kyiv overnight on May 24 during a massive Russian drone and missile attack against the Ukrainian capital.
At least 15 civilians, including two minors, required medical attention due to the attack, mostly suffering shrapnel wounds or acute stress reaction, according to the officials. It marked one of the heaviest Russian attacks against Ukraine's capital throughout the full-scale war.
"It's terrorism," said Mykyta Kruchan, a 22-year-old business development manager at Point2Web whose parents live in an apartment building in the Obolonskyi district that was hit by a Russian Shahed-type drone. Their apartment was not damaged by mere luck, he added.
"What Ukraine does (is that) we shoot (at) their military buildings, military stuff, centers... But here, it's not an adequate reply to me," Kruchan told the Kyiv Independent, adding: "All they (Russia) do is on purpose."
Olha, a 42-year-old factory worker, says she was away while her apartment was hit, but her two daughters, aged 13 and 20, were there at the time.
"The children called when the apartment was hit," Olha told the Kyiv Independent. "They gathered things, closed the door... They are alive, they just inhaled too much smoke."
"The apartment is in a terrible state... It's burning there, it's impossible to breathe. We can't really pack up our things, because everything is either burned, stuck together, or damaged in such a way that it's impossible to use."
One person was injured and five cars were damaged in the Holosiivskyi district after drone wreckage fell in multiple locations, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
A five-story building in the Solomianskyi district caught fire, and seven people required medical attention, Tkachenko said. Two people were injured in the Dniprovskyi district, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported.
In Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district, a fire broke out on the balconies of a nine-story residential building, affecting the third through sixth floors, local authorities reported. Five people required medical attention, of whom at least four suffered shock but no physical injuries.
The Blockbuster Mall in the Obolonskyi district was damaged after a Shahed-type drone or its fragments hit the roof, Hromadske reported, citing employees.
"The neighbors called... (The apartment) was already on fire... It was the epicenter of the explosion here. Everything burned down," said Svitlana, a 62-year-old pensioner whose apartment was completely destroyed in the attack. "Thank God, no one was hurt."
The attacks come despite Kyiv's calls for Moscow to accept a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire, which Russia continues to reject. U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to broker a swift peace deal but more recently signaled decreased engagement in negotiations.
Kruchan, who described himself as once a supporter of Trump, called out the U.S. president for wanting to "team up with terrorists rather than stop them."
"I felt that he's the only person who can really bring peace. But right now, after this terrorist attack from Russia, it doesn't seem to be true," he added.
"Putin, as you said, is a good guy. Come here, and I will show you what this good guy does," Svitlana said in her message to Trump.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down six Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles launched against Kyiv, the Air Force said.
Overall, Russian forces launched 14 Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles against Ukraine overnight, as well as 250 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones. Ukraine's air defenses shot down 128 drones, while 117 were neutralized by electronic warfare systems or disappeared from radars, according to the Air Force.
"There were many fires and explosions in the city overnight. Once again, residential buildings, cars, businesses have been damaged. Sadly, there are injuries," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.
Since the start of its full-scale invasion, Russia has routinely used missiles and drones to strike Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
The first explosions in Kyiv were reported around 10 p.m. on May 23, the same day Ukraine and Russia began their largest prisoner exchange, with 390 Ukrainians returned that day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Drone debris then fell in the Holosiivskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts, according to Kyiv city officials. Air defense has been active in the capital, Klitschko said in a post to Telegram.
Another wave of explosions was heard at around 1 a.m. local time. Ukraine's Air Force earlier warned there is a threat of ballistic missile and drone strikes against several regions.
Later in the night, missile debris was reported in the Obolonskyi district, while in the Solomianskyi district, drone fragments struck a residential building, causing a fire. A non-residential building caught fire in the Sviatoshynskyi district following the attack.
"With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Zelensky said.
"Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times — both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy.
"We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire."
Daria Shulzhenko
