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Russia launched a deadly weekend attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region. See the aftermath.

Source: Meduza

Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine on May 24, using drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as the Oreshnik missile system. A day earlier, officials in Kyiv had warned that Russia was preparing to deploy the weapon following a Ukrainian strike on a college in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. Russia’s Defense Ministry later confirmed that it had used the Oreshnik system — only the third time it has done so during the full-scale war.

In Kyiv, two civilians were killed, according to the latest figures from Mayor Vitali Klitschko. More than 80 people were injured, 31 of them hospitalized, including two children. Here’s what Kyiv looks like after the massive attack.


Flames and smoke over Kyiv after the strike

Gleb Garanich / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

A fire at the Kvadrat shopping center near the Lukianivska metro station

Evgeniy Maloletka / AP / Scanpix / LETA

Oleksii Filippov / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Red Cross volunteers carry a wounded Kyiv resident to an ambulance

Evgeniy Maloletka / AP / Scanpix / LETA

Thomas Peter / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

A crater in a Kyiv courtyard left by a bomb

Evgeniy Maloletka / AP / Scanpix / LETA

Alina Smutko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

Evgeniy Maloletka / AP / Scanpix / LETA

Roman Pilipey / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Russian missile debris on a football field

Alina Smutko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

An elderly woman cleans her Kyiv home after the Russian attack

Danylo Dubchak / Frontliner / Getty Images

Oleksii Filippov / AFP / Scanpix / LETA

Alina Smutko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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