Massive Attack on Kyiv and Kyiv Region: Russia Strikes With Missiles, Drones and Oreshnik
Russia’s massive attack, which began on the evening of May 23 and lasted until the morning of May 24, became one of the heaviest combined strikes on Ukraine in the recent period. The Russian army used 90 missiles of different types and 600 drones, while Kyiv and Kyiv region became the main direction of the strike. The attack lasted all night, until 09:30 in the morning, and left behind dead people, dozens of wounded, destroyed buildings, damaged schools, museums, churches, water supply facilities, a metro station, a market and a shopping center. Time for Action examined the issue this attack was not only an attempt to break through Ukrainian air defense, but also another strike on civilian life. Russia again tried to show force where its missiles in fact hit apartments, shelters, educational institutions, cultural institutions and places used every day by ordinary people. As a result of the strike, four people were killed two in Kyiv and two in the region. Almost 100 people were wounded. In the capital, the number of injured reached 81 people, including three children. There were 31 injured people in hospitals, including two children. In Kyiv region, two deaths were reported in Bucha and Obukhiv districts, as well as nine injured people, including an infant.
The scale of damage in Kyiv shows the real nature of the Russian strike. More than 40 locations in Shevchenkivskyi, Darnytskyi, Desnianskyi, Obolonskyi and Holosiivskyi districts suffered destruction. About 30 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed. One of the missiles destroyed an entrance section of a residential building. Rescuers, medics, municipal services and psychologists of the State Emergency Service, who provided assistance to 247 people, worked at the strike sites. The destruction of the Kvadrat shopping center near the Lukianivska metro station and the fire at the nearby food market became a separate strike on the daily life of the capital. People used the metro station as a shelter during the air attack, but after the hit on the ground-level entrance hall and the shopping center above it, they could not get to the surface. They were transported by trains to other stations, from where they were already getting home. Lukianivska station will temporarily not operate for passenger transportation because of the damage. This episode very accurately shows how Russia strikes not only buildings, but also the very logic of urban survival during the war. The metro in Kyiv has long been not only transport, but also a shelter. A strike on such a place means a strike on a space where people are trying to save themselves.
Another dangerous signal is the strike on Bila Tserkva with an Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile from the Kapustin Yar test site. The fact of using this missile was confirmed by Ukrainian Air Force representative Yurii Ihnat. The very launch of this type of weapon has not only military, but also political significance. Russia is demonstrating readiness for further escalation and is trying to intimidate Ukraine with the scale of its means of destruction. President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply described the nature of the Russian attack, drawing attention to the fact that not abstract “targets” came under fire, but residential buildings, schools, a market and water supply facilities.
“A heavy strike 90 missiles of different types, many of them ballistic 36. Drones 600. Unfortunately, not all ballistics could be shot down. Most hits were in Kyiv, and Kyiv was the main target of this Russian attack. Putin can no longer even pronounce the word ‘hurrah’ normally he mumbles but he is still defeating residential buildings with his missiles. Three Russian missiles against a water supply facility, burned down a market, damaged dozens of residential buildings, several ordinary schools. He launched his ‘Oreshnik’ against Bila Tserkva”
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that it allegedly targeted military command facilities, air bases and enterprises of the defense-industrial complex. But the consequences of the attack show a different picture: damaged residential buildings, a metro station, a shopping center, a market, schools, universities, museums, theaters, churches and the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is exactly the gap between Russian statements and reality that Ukraine sees after every major shelling.
The scale of damage to cultural and educational institutions is especially telling. In Kyiv, the premises of the National Philharmonic, the National Music Academy, the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library, the Ukrainian House, the Kyiv Opera on Podil, the National Art Museum and numerous monuments were damaged. The National Chornobyl Museum was also damaged. The blast wave hit the Church of the Nativity of Christ on Podil, while the Russian missile strike destroyed a building next to the Dominican Monastery and the Institute of Religious Sciences of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was also damaged. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha noted that this unique architectural monument, built by Joseph Langbard in 1939, was damaged for the first time since World War II. This carries a separate symbolism: Russia is striking Ukraine’s capital in such a way that not only housing comes under attack, but also state institutions, historic buildings and cultural memory. Sybiha called on allies not to reduce support for Ukraine, but to strengthen it.
“To our allies, I want to say this it is time to double efforts, not retreat, in supporting Ukraine and increasing pressure on the Russian regime. We call for additional defense capabilities, particularly to protect our sky; investments in our defense industry; increased pressure on Russia, including a ban on entry for Russian fighters, full use of frozen assets; decisive political decisions regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU and other steps”
From a military point of view, this attack showed two important points. The first is that Russia continues to rely on combined strikes in order to launch drones, cruise missiles, ballistics, Kinzhals, Zircons and other means of destruction simultaneously. This creates maximum pressure on Ukrainian air defense. The second is that Ukraine retains a high ability to repel massive attacks, but the problem of ballistic missiles remains critical.
According to preliminary data from the Air Force, air defense neutralized 604 aerial targets: 11 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, 44 Kh-101/Iskander-K/Kalibr cruise missiles and 549 drones. At the same time, hits by 16 missiles and 51 attack drones were recorded at 54 locations, as well as falling debris at 23 locations. These numbers show both the strength of Ukrainian defense and the limit of what it can do without a sufficient number of modern air defense systems. The strike was not limited to Kyiv and Kyiv region. Bohodukhiv in Kharkiv region was attacked by drones, and 12 people were injured. During the day, 20 settlements in Kharkiv region came under Russian strikes. Cars, a post office building, a hotel, a café, an educational institution, a high-rise building and a sports facility were damaged. In Poltava region, Russian forces attacked industrial facilities in Myrhorod district for two days in a row. In Cherkasy, more than ten people were injured after a drone strike on a high-rise building. The reaction of international partners also matters. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia’s massive attack and the use of Oreshnik, calling it a manifestation of further escalation and the dead end of Russian aggression. He stated that Paris’s determination to support Ukraine, work for a just and lasting peace, and strengthen European security is only growing stronger.
Russia continues to wage war against Ukrainian cities as against a living system. It strikes water, schools, metro stations, markets, museums, homes, churches, hospitals, industrial facilities and transport hubs. Its goal is not only physical destruction, but the exhaustion of people, fear, a sleepless night, hospital queues, lost apartments, burned workplaces, closed metro stations, debris in courtyards and life that once again has to be put back together after explosions. That is why the response to such attacks cannot be only words of sympathy. Ukraine needs additional air defense systems, more means to intercept ballistic missiles, faster investments in the defense industry, tougher pressure on Russia and full documentation of every strike on civilian objects. Because every damaged building, every school, every museum and every shelter hit by a Russian missile proves Moscow is not looking for peace. It continues to strike life.
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