DhakaGate International Desk
June 23, 2025, 08:18 PM JST
At least seven people were killed and several injured in a Russian missile and drone attack targeting Ukraine’s Kyiv region overnight, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. The strikes hit residential areas, hospitals, and sports facilities, with six fatalities reported in a high-rise building in Kyiv, where 22 others were injured, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 352 drones and 16 missiles, primarily aimed at Kyiv, in the latest barrage. Russia has escalated its air campaign in recent weeks, using waves of missiles, drones, and decoys to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses—a strategy Ukrainian forces are finding difficult to counter. In Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv, one person died after a drone struck a hospital.
Thousands of Kyiv residents sought shelter in the early hours as drones flew overhead and explosions rocked the city. Ukraine’s emergency services released footage showing dazed survivors being evacuated from a burning high-rise. The capital is still recovering from Tuesday’s attack, which killed 28 and injured over 100, marking one of the deadliest strikes since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky vowed to intensify strikes on Russian territory, stating, “We will not just sit in defense, as this leads to retreat, losses, and territorial concessions.” President Volodymyr Zelensky, traveling to London today for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on military support, is also set to attend a NATO summit dinner in the Netherlands starting Tuesday.
Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war remain stalled, with the last direct talks three weeks ago yielding only limited agreements on prisoner swaps and repatriation of the dead. No further negotiations are scheduled. A planned meeting between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit last week was canceled due to Trump’s early departure amid the Middle East crisis.
Sources: BBC News, Kyiv and London correspondents
