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Last updated 3 mins ago
Ukraine war live: Russia launches one of the biggest drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in months
By Kylie MacLellan, Farouq Suleiman and Estelle Shirbon
What’s happening?
- At least 18 killed and more than 100 wounded in attackson key cities in Ukraine
- Two residential buildings hit in Kyiv
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned of possible strikes
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Just joining us? Here’s what you need to know
27 minutes ago
07:05 EDT
Russia pounded cities across Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday.
Authorities said the attacks killed 18 people and wounded more than 100.
The wave of strikes followed Russian warnings of “systematic” strikes on the capital after a deadly drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held region of Luhansk last month which Kyiv denies carrying out.
It was the third heavy assault on Kyiv in under a month.
Russia has stepped up strikes on its neighbour as Washington focuses on Iran. U.S.-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine have stalled, with deadlock on the battlefield and Kyiv regularly hitting oil refineries in Russia.
Zelenskiy said Russia had fired 73 missiles and more than 600 drones in the overnight attack and again urged Washington to send additional Patriot missile interceptors to replenish Kyiv’s dwindling supplies.
“This was a large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday the war had entered “a new paradigm” after what it called “inhumane acts of terror” Ukraine’s military against civilians.
Reaction
‘We condemn these atrocities’
6 minutes ago
07:27 EDT
Estonia’s President posted on X:
Source: @AlarKaris on X
‘Moscow is losing’ says Ukrainian minister
16 minutes ago
07:17 EDT
Sybiha, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Tom Little
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has commented on Russia’s overnight strikes in a lengthy post on X.
“The only reason for Russia’s overnight horrific attack against Ukraine … is that Putin is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror,” he wrote.
“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” he added.
Russian forces have made grinding gains since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but the advances have slowed this year and Ukrainian troops are increasing pressure on the battlefield to try to push them back.
Zelenskiy said last month that Ukraine had retaken nearly 600 square km (230 square miles) of territory in 2026. Reuters could not independently verify the figure. Russia currently controls almost one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Video
‘I only dream that this will end soon, but I’ve lost all hope’
37 minutes ago
06:56 EDT
Yurii Kovalenko and Daria Smetanko
Thousands took shelter in the Kyiv subway system overnight as explosions echoed overhead.
Kremlin talks of new ‘paradigm’ in Ukraine war
an hour ago
06:12 EDT
Peskov at the Kremlin in Moscow, November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been speaking to reporters in Moscow about Russia’s massive overnight strikes on Ukraine.
He said the war had entered “a new paradigm” due to what he described as “inhumane acts of terror” carried out by Kyiv’s military against civilians.
Moscow said it is stepping up its strikes in retaliation for what it has described as a devastating Ukrainian drone strike on a student dorm in Russian-controlled Luhansk in eastern Ukraine last month, which killed 21 people.
Ukraine denies targeting the dorm and said it was attacking a drone command center in the area.
Peskov also said the peace process was on hold, but contacts between Russia and the United States about Ukraine were continuing.
Ukraine’s air force intercepted 40 missiles
2 hours ago
05:54 EDT
Anna Pruchnicka
As we have been reporting, the weapons used in Russia’s overnight attack included hypersonic missiles.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles in total.
It said the barrage included 33 ballistic missiles and eight Zircon hypersonic missiles.
The Zircon has a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travels at nine times the speed of sound, according to Moscow.
“Eight Zircon missiles were deployed (in Ukraine). This is probably the largest number of this particular type of missile ever deployed in a simultaneous strike,” air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television.
Ukrainian air force units shot down or neutralised 40 missiles, including 11 ballistic ones, and 602 drones.
The air force did not list the Zircons among those that were intercepted.
In pictures: Damage and destruction in Kyiv
2 hours ago
05:39 EDT
A resident stands at a site of a Russian drone and missile strike, in Kyiv, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
REUTERS/Stringer
REUTERS/Stringer
REUTERS/Stringer
The death toll has risen to 17
2 hours ago
05
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