Russia pummels Kyiv with drones and missiles, killing at least 15

Joanna Kakissis | June 17, 2025

Ukraine Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, right, examines the site of a missile strike that ruined a residential building during Russia's massive missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday.

KYIV, Ukraine — One of the largest Russian attacks in months killed at least 15 people, mostly in Ukraine’s capital, injuring nearly 100 and severely damaging several apartment buildings. Rescue workers are digging through the rubble for survivors.

The attack lasted for more than nine hours overnight. Amid the constant crackle of Kyiv’s air defenses, NPR’s bureau heard the moped-like buzzing sound of drones for hours, and, briefly, a missile’s whistling screech.

Other parts of Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of Odesa in the south, Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, Zhytomyr in the west and Chernihiv in the north.

A Russian drone attacks a building during Russia's massive missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. — A Russian drone attacks a building during Russia’s massive missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Efrem Lukatsky | AP)

In a post on Telegram, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 280 attack drones and two Kinzhal ballistic missiles, with most aimed at Kyiv.

In recent weeks, Russia has been sending swarms of drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and then following up with ballistic missiles, which are harder to shoot down. Kyiv residents heard explosions throughout the night as Ukraine’s air defense units shot down most of the aerial weapons.

As the sun rose in Kyiv, the air smelled burnt as thick plumes of smoke rose from parts of the city.

On social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “one of the most horrifying strikes on Kyiv.”

Rescue workers evacuate an injured man from a multi-story residential house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Evgeniy Maloletka | AP)

At least a dozen sites were struck, many of them residential buildings, including a direct hit by a ballistic missile on a nine-story apartment building, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Videos and photos posted by Ukrainian authorities showed part of a high-rise apartment complex collapsed into rubble. Emergency workers are trying to pull survivors from the ruins.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, wrote on social media that the death toll could rise and that a 62-year-old American citizen was also found dead, though it’s not clear if he was killed during the strike. Klitschko also said that emergency workers have found cluster munitions, which can pose a long-term danger to civilians when they don’t explode on impact.

The attack came as Zelenskyy prepared for the G7 summit in Canada, where he is pushing for stronger sanctions on Russia.

A father cries as his son is under the rubble of a multi-story residential house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Evgeniy Maloletka | AP)

The Trump administration’s efforts to start peace negotiations have failed so far. Russia has refused to agree to an unconditional ceasefire to pave the way for peace talks and has instead stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet Trump on the sidelines of the G7 but Trump left the summit early as Israel and Iran trade attacks.

“Such attacks are pure terrorism,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media about Russia’s overnight assault. “And the whole world, the USA and Europe must finally react the way a civilized society reacts to terrorists.”