Updated May 24, 2026 at 8:08 AM CDT
KYIV – Russia pummeled Ukraine's capital with a massive wave of missile and drone attacks early Sunday that sparked fires, and hours of explosions shook buildings.
At least two people were killed and at least 77 injured, according to Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, who said there was damage in "every district of the city."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement posted to social media that the European Union was sending more support to help Ukraine reinforce its air defense systems.
"Russia's massive attack on Ukraine last night shows the Kremlin's brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations," von der Leyen said. "Terror against civilians is not strength. It's despair."
Ukraine's culture minister Tetyana Berezhna said the attacks also damaged the largest number of cultural institutions in Kyiv since Russia's 2022 invasion. The museum devoted to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history, was destroyed. One of the city's oldest markets also burned down.
Ukraine's air force said Russia used 600 drones and 90 missiles in the attack, including a powerful hypersonic ballistic missile called the Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted most of the drones and more than half of the missiles.
The extensive strikes came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alerted Ukrainians that large strikes involving an Oreshnik were imminent, citing European and U.S. intelligence.
In a video posted to social media on Sunday, Zelenskyy said an Oreshnik missile hit Bila Tserkva, a city about 50 miles south of Kyiv. It's the third time Russian forces have used this missile during its full-scale war on Ukraine.
"They really are unhinged," Zelenskyy said.
In a statement on Telegram, Russia's defense ministry confirmed it had used the Oreshnik. In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the missile travels "like a meteorite," cannot be stopped by air defense and can obliterate underground bunkers.
Putin ordered Russia's military to retaliate after blaming Ukraine for a drone strike on Friday on a college in the town of Starobilsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Saturday that at least 21 were killed and 42 injured.
Ukraine denies targeting the college.
Negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine have stalled as the U.S. is distracted by its own war, waged with Israel, on Iran. The Trump administration has also loosened some sanctions on Russian oil exports to make up for energy shortfalls amid the war with Iran.
Oil, a pillar of the Russian economy, helps fuel the war on Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces have used long-range drone strikes for weeks to successfully damage oil refineries and depots inside Russia as well as ports where oil is exported. They have also damaged Russian logistics and ammunition hubs in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
NPR recently joined a Ukrainian military unit that launches long-range drones made by Ukraine into Russia. A member of the unit who uses the military callsign Uki watched one of the drones flying into the night sky. (At the request of Ukraine's military, which cites security reasons, NPR identifies soldiers by first name or callsign).
"This is how Ukraine can impose effective sanctions to force Russia into a just and lasting peace," he said.
NPR producer Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report.
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