Russia and Ukraine completed the largest prisoner exchange of the war only hours before a huge wave of Russian drone and missile attacks rocked Ukraine’s capital overnight. After thundering through the city all night, explosions set fires, damaged buildings, and injured multiple civilians.
Explosions Across the Capital
Residents are sheltering from an attack which began about 10 p.m. on May 23 and continued into the early hours of May 24. Russia fired 14 ballistic missiles and over 250 Shahed-type drones during what Ukraine’s Air Force and Kyiv city officials said was one of the most intense bombardments of the capital in months.
The Ukrainian air defense system was knocking out six ballistic missiles and 128 drones, while another 117 drones failed to reach their targets due to countermeasures taken by electronic warfare systems.
Although defensive success was achieved, debris from intercepted projectiles wrought damage around the planet. At least four districts were hit by fires, with the largest in Solomianskyi, Obolonskyi, Dniprovskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts.
Civilian Casualties and Damage
At least 15 civilians were reported to have been injured, two of them children. Several needed medical treatment for shock or minor wounds from flying debris and fire-related incidents. In the Obolonskyi district, a fire gutted the balconies of a nine-story building. Drone debris sparked an emergency in Solomianskyi by setting ablaze a five-story residential building. The fires also occurred in the Sviatoshynskyi district, where other nonresidential structures were affected.
Tymur Tkachenko, acting military administrator for Kyiv, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko were quick to confirm that emergency services had been dispatched across the city. Residents were urged to stay in shelters and follow air raid alerts.
In response, President Volodymyr Zelensky released a strongly worded statement on social media claiming: ‘With each such attack, the world is becoming more certain that the cause of prolonging the war is Moscow…’ Urgently, ‘stronger international pressure is needed’.”
Attack Follows Largest Prisoner Exchange of the War
The impact of the attack was multiplied by its symbolic and psychological meaning, made more so by the timing of the attack. Russia and Ukraine exchanged 390 prisoners each just hours before the assault, in the biggest prisoner swap since the war began. The role of Turkey’s mediation in bringing the two sides together in Istanbul was hailed as a rare diplomatic success in the face of a conflict now in its third year of bloodletting.
Loved ones were welcomed by families gathered at the medical centers. Returning soldiers recognised photos of family members waiting to see whether they’d recognise their sons, brothers, and husbands.
Finally, one woman, Nataliia Mosych, was able to see her husband after nearly two years in captivity. There is an unbelievable feeling. She told Ukrainian reporters she was still in shock.
But the attack that followed still demonstrated that the gesture didn’t mean an easing of hostilities. A frontline of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) remains the scene of heavy fighting in both countries.
International Response and the Path Forward
The Ukrainian government repeated its request for a no-fly zone and fresh talks with Russia. Urging the United States, the European Union, and allied countries to increase pressure on Moscow, including by going after the key sectors of the Russian economy, President Zelensky said there was no military solution to the conflict.
Ukraine has proposed both full and partial ceasefires — partial meaning that only aerial attacks should stop — in recent weeks, Zelensky said, but that the Kremlin has dismissed the offer.
Air raid sirens, meanwhile, are ringing out in Ukrainian cities, reminding people that peace still seems far off. There are no fresh peace talks out in front, and rocket salvos are still being rained over urban centers.
