Translated material
“Brutal” massive Russian missile and drone attack hits Kyiv overnight, killing 10 and injuring over 120
Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Ten people were killed and at least 124 were injured after a large-scale Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv overnight on June 17, local officials said. A ballistic missile struck a nine-story residential building as part of the attack, which lasted close to nine hours, according to a report by The Kyiv Independent.
Russia launched 472 aerial weapons overnight, including nearly 280 Shahed-type attack drones and two Kinzhal ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Monday. Kyiv was the primary target of the strike.
Ukrainian air defenses reportedly intercepted 428 incoming threats, including 239 Shahed drones and 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles. One Kinzhal missile was shot down, while another disappeared from radar tracking, officials said.
The attacks damaged residential buildings, educational facilities, and critical infrastructure across the city.
15 fatalities were initially reported, but Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later revised the figure to 10. He explained that casualty figures may change, as body parts recovered during rescue operations could initially be misidentified as belonging to multiple victims.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called the overnight assault “one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv,” adding that over 440 drones and missiles were launched at Ukraine’s capital.
“Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the USA and Europe must finally react the way a civilized society reacts to terrorists,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the attack, calling it a «massive and brutal strike» timed deliberately to coincide with the G7 summit.
“Putin does this on purpose... He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing,” Sybiha said. “Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong.”
The Solomianskyi and Darnytskyi districts of Kyiv suffered the most significant damage. In Solomianskyi, emergency crews continued clearing debris from the destroyed section of the nine-story building where the fatalities occurred. Rescuers managed to free people trapped in stairwells, apartments, and beneath the rubble. Among the damaged sites was a student dormitory belonging to the Kyiv Aviation Institute. It was struck by debris from an intercepted aerial target. Another high-rise residential building also caught fire after being hit.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, emphasized that the pattern of destruction indicates Russia deliberately targeted residential areas with missiles.
“The Russians carried out a completely planned terror attack on the city. Everything points to this — the tactics used by the enemy and the locations targeted: residential high-rise buildings in residential areas — all of this is the hallmark of deliberate planning,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
Aside from the strikes in Kyiv, Russian drone attacks on the port city of Odesa killed two people and injured 17 others — including a pregnant woman and a 17-year-old girl, regional authorities said. Emergency crews recovered the body of a 60-year-old and a 78-year-old woman from the rubble. One person was hospitalized, while the others are receiving outpatient treatment.
The attack damaged several residential buildings in Odesa’s historic center, as well as a kindergarten and an inclusive education facility.
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