A large ballistic missile attack pounded Kyiv early on Sunday (May 24, 2026), authorities said, wounding at least five people after Moscow threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, causing a residential building near the government district to shake, while dozens took shelter in an underground metro station in the city centre, according to AFP journalists.

“The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said five people had been wounded and one of them hospitalised.

“There are currently reports of at least 4 locations affected by the attack: Shevchenkivsky, Dniprovsky and Podilsky districts. Fires and damage to residential buildings are preliminarily reported,” Mr. Tkachenko said.

“A strike drone attack is ongoing; the ballistic missile threat remains present. Stay in shelters!”

Ukrainian authorities and the U.S. Embassy had earlier warned of a possible significant attack on the capital after Russia said it would “punish” those responsible for deadly strikes in a part of eastern Ukraine under its control.

Mr. Klitschko said medical teams were called to the Podilsky district in Kyiv’s northwest, where debris fell in a non-residential area.

The attack also sparked a fire near a residential building in nearby Shevchenkivsky, he added.

Missile attack warning

Kyiv had earlier warned it was expecting a major Russian missile attack after its own forces launched a drone barrage in the Russian-occupied east, which Moscow said hit a college dormitory and killed at least 18 people.

Launched overnight on Thursday (May 21, 2026) to Friday (May 22, 2026), the drone salvo — one of Ukraine’s deadliest such strikes in months — also wounded 42 in Starobilsk, in the occupied Lugansk region, trapping people beneath the debris.

Ukraine denied targeting civilians, saying it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday (May 22, 2026) that those responsible would face “inevitable and severe punishment”.

On Saturday (May 23, 2026) both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued warnings about the risk of a major Russian airstrike in the coming hours.

“We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry” including the Oreshnik, a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic missile,Mr. Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.

The U.S. Embassy said it had “received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next 24 hours”.

Ukraine regularly targets Russian-controlled areas of the country with drones, saying the strikes are retaliation for Russian attacks.

Dormitory death toll

Russia’s Emergency Ministry said on Saturday (May 23, 2026) it had pulled two more bodies from the rubble of the dormitory, taking the death toll to 18.

Video shared by the Ministry showed dozens of rescuers sifting through what remained of a section of the five-storey building.

Most of those killed and missing were young women born between 2003 and 2008, according to a list of casualties published by the Moscow-backed governor of occupied Lugansk, Leonid Pasechnik.

“The region and the entire country share the fate of these people and the pain of their families,” he said on Telegram.

The United Nations said on Friday (May 22, 2026) it “strongly condemns any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur”, adding it could not verify details due to restricted access to the area.

Starobilsk lies about 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine. It was captured by Russian forces in the early months of the offensive in 2022.

Kyiv has recently expanded its drone capabilities and stepped up strikes on undisputed Russian territory, including residential areas and oil export infrastructure.

Moscow has launched mass barrages of missiles and drones at Ukraine almost daily since the full-scale offensive began in 2022, also hitting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. It denies targeting civilians.

U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an end to more than four years of war have slowed in recent months with Washington’s attention diverted towards its conflict in the Middle East.

Published – May 24, 2026 07:40 am IST

Municipal workers remove debris in front of a building damaged during overnight Russian drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine on May 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Firefighters arrive to the site of a fuel station which was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 2, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Smoke rises from a heavily damaged train station building in the town of Fastiv, Kyiv region, after an air attack, on December 6, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
| Photo Credit: AFP

Russia fired a total of 381 drones and 35 missiles at Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s air force.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin during theira meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

This photograph shows a general view of the turbine hall of a thermal power plant damaged during a missile attack, at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Ukraine said Friday (December 13, 2024) that it was fending off a new missile attack on its energy system, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the war-torn country’s power grid during the winter season.

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Russia has escalated its strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, plunging hundreds of thousands into temporary blackouts as temperatures hit -5 degrees Celsius (23 Fahrenheit).

To fend off the strikes, Ukraine has been pleading for more air defence from its Western allies, amid fears support will soon be reduced when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

“The enemy continues its terror. Once again, the energy sector across Ukraine is under massive attack,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

“Engineers are taking all the necessary measures to minimise the consequences,” he said after explosions were reported in a few regions.

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The air raid alert was announced at 7.00 a.m. (0500 GMT), with social media channels that monitor threats reporting cruise and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles over several regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s neighbour Poland said it placed its army on “high readiness” due to the threat of an attack.

Russia has conducted at least 11 large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the beginning of the year, Kyiv says.

To manage the power deficit, Ukraine’s energy operator has been implementing hours-long outages, and it announced increased restrictions on Friday.

Moscow has previously acknowledged striking Ukraine’s energy sites but says they are legitimate targets as they “support the Ukrainian defence industry enterprises”.

The latest strike comes a day after the Kremlin said it would “definitely” respond to a Ukrainian attack on a southern airfield using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he disagreed “very vehemently” with Ukraine firing American-supplied missiles deep into Russia.

But Mr. Trump insisted he would not abandon Ukraine as U.S. support for Kyiv would be key leverage in efforts to bring the war to a close.

Mr. Trump has boasted he would end the war swiftly, raising fears he might force Ukraine into a deal on Russia’s terms.

Deprive us of energy

Ukrainian officials urged allies to send more air defence to fend off the strikes on energy infrastructure.

Kyiv has repeatedly denounced the attacks on its energy system as attempts to break the population’s morale.

“Russia aims to deprive us of energy. Instead, we must deprive it of the means of terror,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media.

He said Ukraine needed 20 NASAMS, HAWK or IRIS-T air defence systems.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday (December 12, 2024) for a path to end the war that takes into account the interests of both Kyiv and the European Union, saying the former’s sovereignty and the latter’s security were at stake.

During a meeting in Poland with Prime Minister Donald Tush, the two leaders also discussed the possibility of stationing foreign troops in Ukraine in case of a ceasefire, Tusk said.

Macron did not publicly mention the possibility of foreign peacekeepers, but in February he floated the idea of Western troops in Ukraine.

Asked about the proposal on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “Frankly, we can think and work on Emmanuel (Macron)’s position”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin records a televised address in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday (November 21, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

“The Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday (November 21, 2024) in response to Kyiv’s use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia,” President Vladimir Putin said.

In a televised address to the country, the Russian President warned that U.S. air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which he said flies at ten times the speed of sound and which he called the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree. He also said it could be used to attack any Ukrainian ally whose missiles are used to attack Russia.

“We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against the military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities,” Mr. Putin said in his first comments since President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light this month to use U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike at limited targets inside Russia.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia’s missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate range missile based on it’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.

“This was a new type of lethal capability that was deployed on the battlefield, so that was certainly of concern,” Ms. Singh said, noting that the missile could carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. “The U.S. was notified ahead of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels,” she said.

“The attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro came in response to Kyiv’s use of longer-range U.S. and British missiles in strikes Tuesday and Wednesday on southern Russia,” Mr. Putin said. “Those strikes caused a fire at an ammunition depot in Russia’s Bryansk region and killed and wounded some security services personnel in the Kursk region,” he said.

“In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and in kind,” the Russian President said, adding that Western leaders who are hatching plans to use their forces against Moscow should “seriously think about this.”

Mr. Putin said the Oreshnik fired Thursday struck a well-known missile factory in Dnipro. He also said Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn’t done before previous aerial attacks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov initially said Russia hadn’t warned the U.S. about the coming launch of the new missile, noting that it wasn’t obligated to do so. But he later changed tack and said Moscow did issue a warning 30 minutes before the launch.

Mr. Putin’s announcement came hours after Ukraine claimed that Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Dnipro attack, which wounded two people and damaged an industrial facility and rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, according to local officials. But American officials said an initial U.S. assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr. Putin’s acknowledgement of the use of the new weapon was another escalation in the war, now more than 1,000 days old, after the deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday (November 21, 2024) that a Russian attack on Ukraine with a new type of ballistic missile was a “clear and severe escalation” in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.

“This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war,” Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on X, referring to a strike on the central city of Dnipro.

“The use of a ballistic missile against Ukraine today is yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace,” he wrote.

“The world must respond,” he wrote. “Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a television address, said Russia had responded to the use of U.S. and British missiles by Kyiv by firing a new kind of hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile at a Ukrainian military facility.

In his comments on X, Mr. Zelenskyy said Mr. Putin’s acknowledgement of the use of the new weapon was another escalation in the war, now more than 1,000 days old, after the deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil.

“Putin is not only prolonging the war — he is spitting in the face of those in the world who genuinely want peace to be restored,” he wrote.

“The world must respond. Right now, there is no strong reaction from the world…A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behavior is acceptable,” he added.

The ICBM attack on Ukraine comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine that formally lowers the threshold for the country’s use of nuclear weapons. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine says Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight targeting Dnipro city in the central-east of the country, which, if confirmed, would be the first time Moscow has used such a missile in the war.

In a statement Thursday (November 21, 2024) on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s air force did not specify the exact type of missile, but said it was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, which borders the Caspian Sea.

It said an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired at Dnipro city along with eight other missiles, and that the Ukrainian military shot down six of them.

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Two people were wounded as a result of the attack, and an industrial facility and a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities were damaged, according to local officials.

While the range of an ICBM would seem excessive for use against Ukraine, such missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads, and the use of one would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability and a powerful message of potential escalation.

Revised nuclear doctrine

The attack comes two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine that formally lowers the threshold for the country’s use of nuclear weapons. Ukraine on Tuesday fired several American-supplied longer-range missiles and reportedly fired U.K.-made Storm Shadows on Wednesday into Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday that its air defence systems shot down two British-made Storm Shadow missiles, six HIMARS rockets, and 67 drones. The announcement came in the ministry’s daily roundup regarding the military actions in Ukraine.

The statement didn’t say when or where exactly it happened or what the missiles were targeting. This is not Moscow’s first public announcement of the shooting down of Storm Shadow missiles, as Russia earlier reported downing some over the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

International dimension

The developments come as the war has taken on a growing international dimension with the arrival of North Korean troops to help Russia on the battlefield — a development that U.S. officials said prompted U.S. President Joe Biden’s policy shift on allowing Ukraine to fire longer-range U.S. missiles into Russia. The Kremlin responded with threats to escalate further.

Mr. Putin has previously warned the U.S. and other NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied longer-range weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Russia and NATO are at war.

And the new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.

While the doctrine envisions a possible nuclear response by Russia to a conventional strike, it is formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons and keep Putin’s options open.