Daijiworld Media Network - Kyiv

Kyiv, May 15: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile strike on a residential apartment building in Kyiv killed 24 people, including three teenagers, in one of the deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months.

According to Ukrainian officials, emergency workers completed rescue and recovery operations on Friday after spending more than a day clearing debris from the destroyed nine-storey apartment block.

Zelenskyy said the strike was part of what the Ukrainian Air Force described as Russia’s biggest aerial barrage against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The large-scale attack mainly targeted Kyiv, where at least 48 people were injured, including two children, the Ukrainian president said.

Russia has intensified aerial attacks in recent days despite a brief May 9-11 ceasefire proposal earlier urged by US President Donald Trump during separate discussions with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Although fighting reportedly reduced during the proposed ceasefire period, both sides continued military operations.

The latest wave of attacks contradicted recent suggestions from Trump and Putin that the war, now entering its fifth year, could be nearing an end.

Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian cities and civilian areas since Wednesday.

“In total, nearly 180 sites across the country were damaged, including more than 50 residential buildings,” he said.

Officials noted that the previous largest Russian aerial assault had occurred in March, when Moscow launched nearly 1,000 drones and missiles within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had intercepted 355 Ukrainian drones overnight in what Moscow described as one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks since the war began.

Several Russian airports temporarily suspended flights because of the attacks.

Authorities in Russia’s Ryazan region said a Ukrainian drone strike killed four people, including a child, and triggered a major fire at a local oil refinery.

Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said thick black smoke rose from the refinery following the attack.

Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil infrastructure in an effort to disrupt export revenues and weaken Moscow’s war resources. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the Ryazan strike.

Kyiv observed an official day of mourning on Friday for those killed in the missile attack, and Zelenskyy visited the strike site.

The Ukrainian president claimed that preliminary analysis showed the cruise missile used in the attack had been manufactured earlier this year.

“This means Russia is still importing the components, resources and equipment necessary for missile production in circumvention of global sanctions,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

He called on Ukraine’s allies to intensify efforts to block Russia’s sanctions evasion networks.

Amid the continuing conflict, Russia and Ukraine also carried out another prisoner exchange on Friday.

Both countries confirmed that 205 prisoners of war from each side had been released as part of the first phase of a planned 1,000-for-1,000 exchange agreement.

Zelenskyy said several of the released Ukrainian prisoners had been held in Russian captivity since 2022 and had participated in some of the war’s fiercest battles.

Russia’s Defence Ministry also confirmed the exchange and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping mediate the deal.