Rescue employees clear the rubble of a home closely broken after a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Might 14, 2026.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
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Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Friday {that a} Russian missile assault on a Kyiv condominium constructing the day prior to this killed 24 folks, together with three youngsters.
Emergency employees completed digging by way of the constructing’s rubble after greater than a day, Zelenskyy stated on X.
The cruise missile hit the nine-story nook block throughout what the Ukrainian air pressure stated was Russia’s largest barrage of the nation since its all-out invasion.
The assault principally focused the Ukrainian capital, the place 48 folks had been wounded, together with two youngsters, Zelenskyy stated.
Russia hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial assaults within the days following a Might Sept. 11 ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump stated he requested Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to watch. Preventing went on over these 72 hours, though reportedly on a lesser scale.
This week’s assaults ran counter to latest options from Trump and Putin that the battle, now in its fifth yr, is near ending.
Zelenskyy stated Thursday that Moscow had launched greater than 1,560 drones in opposition to Ukrainian inhabitants facilities since Wednesday. In all, some 180 websites throughout the nation had been broken, together with greater than 50 residential buildings, he stated.
Beforehand, the most important Russian drone assault was from the night of March 23 to the night of March 24 when Moscow’s forces fired practically 1,000 drones and missiles at Ukraine.
The Ukrainian capital noticed an official day of mourning Friday in remembrance of these killed.
The cruise missile that hit the condominium constructing was constructed within the second quarter of this yr, Zelenskyy stated, apparently after Ukrainian consultants analyzed the wreckage.
“This implies Russia remains to be importing the elements, sources, and gear needed for missile manufacturing in circumvention of worldwide sanctions,” Zelenskyy stated in one other publish on X late Thursday.
“Stopping Russia’s sanctions evasion schemes should be a real precedence for all our companions,” he stated.
Russia and Ukraine have continued to often swap prisoners of battle, and 205 from every nation returned dwelling Friday.
Zelenskyy stated it was the primary section of a deliberate 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap. Among the Ukrainians launched had been held in Russian captivity since 2022, he stated, and had fought in among the battle’s fiercest battles.
Russia’s Protection Ministry confirmed the trade and thanked the United Arab Emirates for serving to dealer it.
