A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed 16 people and injured more than 100 in the deadliest strike on the capital this year, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.
According to Ukrainian officials, the attack lasted nearly nine hours overnight, during which Russia launched more than 440 drones and 32 missiles. The main strike destroyed part of a nine-story apartment building in Kyiv, killing at least 14 residents and injuring 139 others, according to Kyiv’s city administration head Tymur Tkachenko.
This isn’t a military facility or an oil refinery. This is an apartment building. In Kyiv. Russian terrorists targeted this high rise specifically to kill people. There is no other reason.
My question is for the civilized western world -why are moscow buildings still standing ? pic.twitter.com/uFGB5bQpk7— Cuntasorus Flex🇺🇦🇺🇸 #muga NAFO (@warrior_na92602) June 17, 2025
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a 62-year-old American citizen was among the dead. “He was pronounced dead by doctors,” Klitschko said on Telegram.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the American fatality and condemned the attack. “We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” she said Tuesday. No further details were provided.
I receive regular reports from Minister of Internal Affairs Klymenko and our military commanders on the aftermath of Russia’s massive strike. More than 440 drones and 32 missiles were used. Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks. Also, overnight, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia,… pic.twitter.com/4ZMFBj8eJ2
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 17, 2025
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the strike as “one of the most terrifying” since the war began, said that Russian attacks also targeted the regions of Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, and Mykolaiv.
“Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to go on. It is wrong when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Zelenskyy’s remarks come amid shifting dynamics in U.S. policy toward the war.
According to a Reuters report published on Tuesday, the White House recently disbanded a working group that had been formed earlier this year to explore avenues for pushing Russia toward peace talks.
The group, composed of officials from the State Department, Pentagon, and other agencies, reportedly lost momentum as it became clear that President Donald Trump was hesitant to adopt a tougher approach toward Moscow.
“It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn’t there,” an unnamed official told Reuters. “Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less.”
The Tuesday attack in Ukraine follows earlier large-scale strikes. On June 10, Russia launched nearly 500 drones in a single night, the largest drone attack of the war.
