Zelensky, foreign diplomats pay respects to victims of May 14 Russian attack on Kyiv as capital marks day of mourning
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President Volodymyr Zelensky and several foreign diplomats on May 15 paid their respects to the victims of the previous day's Russian missile attack that destroyed part of an apartment building in Kyiv, killing 24 people, including three children.
The visit came an hour after first responders concluded search and rescue efforts at the site, 28 hours after a Russian missile struck the building in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district.
"The world must remember the price Ukraine pays every day to prevent Russian aggression from spreading to other nations," Zelensky wrote on social media.
A day of mourning was being observed in Kyiv on May 15.
The search and rescue operation at the site of Russia’s strike on a residential building in Kyiv has been completed. Our first responders from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine worked continuously for more than a day. The Russians practically demolished an entire section of… pic.twitter.com/PjbSSomhWu
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 15, 2026
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on May 14, following the attack, that he instructed the initiation of a United Nations Security Council meeting "to respond to Russia's killings of Ukrainian civilians and attacks against humanitarian personnel."
"Such a scale of Russian terror necessitates strong international responses, and I request all states to react," Sybiha said in a post on X.
European and U.S. diplomats paid their respects at the site of the fatal Russian strike on the residential building.
U.S. Ambassador Julie Davis visited the site alongside members of the diplomatic corps.
"As Ukraine marks a Day of Mourning, we extend our deepest condolences to all affected by this senseless tragedy," the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said in a post to X.
Swiss diplomats joined in paying tribute at the site of the Russian strike and condemned Russia's attack in a post to X.
The embassies of other countries, including Finland, Germany, and Canada, expressed their support for Ukraine in response to the Russian attack.
"Ambassador of Finland to Ukraine Tarja Fernández joined a visit at the site of the Russian missile strike on a residential building. As a result of the attack, 24 people were killed, including three children. We express our sincere condolences," a statement by Finland's Embassy in Ukraine read.
Fifty-six missiles of various types, including Iskander ballistic and Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles, were launched in the overnight attack, as well as 675 one-way attack drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
Zelensky said on May 14 he had instructed Ukraine's military to prepare responses to the attack. Overnight on May 15, Ukraine's military launched a large-scale drone attack striking Russian military and energy infrastructure in multiple regions of Russia.
Moscow also spoke the language of retaliation, despite being the aggressor in the war and striking Ukrainian cities regularly from the outset.
"Russian troops, in response to the terrorist attacks of Ukraine on civilian objects of the Russian Federation, carried out a massive retaliatory strike," the country's defense ministry said.
