On 22 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin honored the memory of those who died in battles with Nazi regime and few hours later launched a massive strike on Kyiv. According to the latest data, at least nine people were killed, including an 11-year-old girl. The body of her mother had been found earlier.
Kyiv services have been cleaning the rubble from the building for hours since early morning. One of the victims was found in the afternoon.
“Another victim of Russian terror. Rescuers have recovered the body of the ninth victim of the enemy strike. The search operation continues,” says Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
Russia has targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region with 159 Shahed drones, 16 ballistic and cruise missiles, likely exported from North Korea. Ukraine has recorded impacts in six districts. Some of them have been intercepted — but not all. In the region, one of the targets hit a hospital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that such strikes have become possible due to “a coalition of killers”, meaning Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“Everyone in countries bordering Russia, Iran, and North Korea should ask themselves whether they could protect lives if this coalition of killers survives and continues spreading terror,” he has emphasized.
He also noted that during his visit to the UK today, he would discuss with partners a new model of collective defense, which would protect the nations from their threats.
A lion has attacked collaborator Oleg Zubkov at the Taigan Safari Park he founded in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported on June 22.
Zubkov is a businessman who renounced his Ukrainian citizenship and began cooperating with the Russian authorities following Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014
He also smuggled animals from zoos in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
During an evening feeding, Zubkov was attacked by a lion which tore his trachea, neck, and chest muscles with its claws. He managed to leave the lion's enclosure but then lost consciousness.
As a result of the attack, Zubkov lost a significant amount of blood and was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Simferopol, Crimea.
Zubkov regained consciousness on June 23 after surgery, and his condition is described as stable.
This is not the first time lions at the Taigan Safari Park have attacked its staff. In 2024, three lions killed Leokadia Perevalova while she was cleaning an enclosure. Perevalova had worked at the park for 17 years.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
Two people were killed and at least 12 others injured after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in Odesa Oblast on June 23, Governor Oleh Kiper reported.
The attack targeted a local educational institution, destroying the building and leaving several people, including members of the teaching staff, possibly trapped under the rubble. No children were present at the time due to summer holidays, Kiper said.
Three of the wounded are in serious condition, while the others — including two teenagers — are being treated for moderate injuries. The Air Force reported tracking two high-speed ballistic targets heading toward the city shortly before the strike.
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, a historic Black Sea city known for its Akkerman Fortress, lies near the mouth of the Dniester River.
Under international humanitarian law, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure such as schools is forbidden and may constitute a war crime. Russia has repeatedly struck non-military sites throughout its full-scale invasion.
Earlier the same day, Russia launched another mass missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least eight people and injuring 33 others, including four children, according to city officials.
The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk
On 22 June, a Russian missile struck a temporary training ground used by Ukraine’s Ground Forces, killing three soldiers and injuring 14 others, according to multiple official statements. The site was located in Kherson Oblast and used for periodic exercises by a mechanized brigade.
The Ground Forces reported that the missile hit during scheduled exercises on a temporary site used by one of their mechanized brigades.
“Today, 22 June, the enemy launched a missile strike on a training ground of one of the mechanized brigades of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where training sessions were underway,” the official statement read.
According to spokesperson Vitalii Sarantsev, the missile was likely an Iskander-M ballistic missile. He told national television that the location was not a permanent deployment zone, but a temporary site used specifically for training tasks.
Sarantsev stated that while the majority of troops responded quickly to the alarm and reached shelters, “some servicemen neglected safety measures—and most of those who did were the ones who got injured.” He emphasized that troops had been dispersed to shelters just minutes before the missile landed.
Ukraine’s Ground Forces reported that prompt implementation of safety protocols helped prevent greater casualties. Still, three deaths were confirmed, and by 19:27, the number of injured had climbed to 14. Medical facilities provided urgent treatment to all wounded, the military said.
A special commission has been set up by the Ground Forces Command to investigate the circumstances of the strike. Law enforcement agencies are also working at the site. Military officials confirmed that additional protective measures are being implemented to safeguard personnel from potential future attacks.
This is not the first time Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian training grounds. Earlier in June, after a missile strike on a training area in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, General-Major Mykhailo Drapatyi resigned as commander of the Ground Forces, citing personal responsibility.
He was later appointed Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, responsible for military operations. Brigadier General Shapovalov took over as Ground Forces commander on 19 June.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the missile strike in his 22 June evening video message.
“I am expecting a full report on the consequences and all circumstances of the Russian missile strike on the training ground in southern Ukraine,” he stated. “There were casualties, there were wounded. Full accountability is required.”
Ukraine has returned the remains of three Russians who were handed over to Kyiv as part of an exchange of fallen soldiers' bodies, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told Interfax Ukraine on June 23.
Ukraine has said the practice of passing off the bodies of Russian soldiers as Ukrainian is part of an attempt to obscure the scale of its military losses from the Russian public, and at least 20 such incidents have been recorded during recent repatriations conducted under the Istanbul agreements.
Russia did not comment on the discovery made by the Ukrainian side, while Klymenko said during a press conference on June 23 that it could be done to "sow chaos" during the identification of the soldiers' bodies.
Personal badges, chevrons, documents, military uniforms elements, and footwear typical of the Russian Armed Forces were found during the bodies examination transferred by Russia to Ukraine, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said.
According to Klymenko, the bodies were transferred to Russia after confirmation that they belong to Russians. The other 17 bodies have not yet been handed over to Moscow, as examinations continues.
"We are waiting for the DNA of relatives. Therefore, we want the relatives (of Russians) to submit their DNA so that we can confirm," Klymenko told Interfax Ukraine. "I gave an order to prohibit the release of these bodies to the Russians until there is a 100% confirmation."
The Interior Ministry's experts conduct up to 10,000 examinations per month to identify individuals, and one fragment of remains can be examined up to five times, Klymenko said.
"The bodies of our heroes come back extremely mutilated. There are objective reasons for this, such as an ongoing war and widespread use of weapons. At the same time, we have recorded cases when the remains of one person were returned during different stages of repatriation, which complicates our work," Klymenko said.
The June 2 negotiations in Istanbul resulted in the most expansive prisoner and body exchange agreement of the full-scale war, although no ceasefire was reached.
Ukraine received a total of 6,057 bodies of its fallen soldiers as part of the phased exchange. Russia, according to Kremlin aide and negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, took back 78.
Explaining the difference between the two numbers, President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 20 said that the bodies of the vast majority of Russian soldiers currently killed on the battlefield remain in Russian hands.
"They were advancing, and their dead remained in the territory where they were," he said.
Russia accused Kyiv on June 7 of rejecting a proposed body return, publishing footage allegedly showing Ukrainian corpses stored in refrigeration units. Ukraine dismissed the claims, saying the footage was filmed on Russian territory, not at a designated handover site.
Kyiv has consistently called for an "all-for-all" exchange of prisoners of war, but Moscow has so far refused to agree to a comprehensive swap.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Hungary and Slovakia blocked the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed on 23 June. Despite never supporting Kyiv militarily, Hungary also declared it would no longer support Ukraine militarily or financially, as Budapest continues aligning itself with Moscow’s interests inside the EU.
According to Liga, Szijjártó announced at a press briefing streamed on Facebook:
“We, together with Slovakia, prevented the adoption of the sanctions package today.”
The move came in direct response to the European Commission’s ongoing push to reduce EU dependency on Russian energy.
Szijjártó justified the veto by referencing the EU’s June 2022 decision that had granted Hungary and Slovakia a full exemption from the Russian oil embargo introduced in the sixth sanctions package. Hungary believes that the ban on purchasing cheap Russian gas and oil violates previous agreements.
“The European Union decided unanimously that Hungary and Slovakia would receive a full exemption for an unlimited time from the oil embargo on Russian crude,” he claimed.
Hungary cannot directly veto the Commission’s energy strategy, which only needs a qualified majority vote, so it blocked the sanctions package instead. Szijjártó described this majority-voting mechanism as allegedly “a very serious violation of European legal norms.”
He also warned that restricting access to Russian energy now, amid rising instability in the Middle East and threats to the Ormuz Strait, would lead to major losses and a supply crisis in Europe.
Szijjártó condemned what he called “increasingly pro-Ukrainian military sentiment” among EU foreign ministers. He noted that the EU has already provided Ukraine with 10 trillion forints—about €25 billion—this year alone.
“But today it was said that even that is not enough,” Orbán’s minister complained.
Hungary, he said, will block any further attempts to support Kyiv:
“We will not allow Hungarian money to be sent to Ukraine. We are not ready to support any new financial aid, any new arms deliveries, or any new military operations.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the U.K. on June 23 to conduct several meetings with "a primary goal" of deepening defense cooperation, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said in comments reported by Ukrinform.
Zelensky's visit comes just a few hours after yet another Russian attack on Kyiv, which killed at least seven and injured almost 30 people. A residential buliding was partially destroyed in a direct ballistic missile hit.
In the U.K., Zelensky is to meet with King Charles III, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as with the speakers of both houses of parliament, Lindsay Hoyle and John McFall, according to Nykyforov.
Zelensky is also scheduled to meet with Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training in the U.K. and representatives of think tanks.
This year, the U.K. has allocated 4.5 billion pounds ($5.8 billion) for military assistance to Ukraine, marking its largest annual commitment so far.
London remains one of Kyiv's most steadfast military partners, providing long-range missiles, armored vehicles, training, and political support against Russian aggression.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned U.S. strikes on Iran as "completely unprovoked aggression," more than three years into his completely unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Putin made the comments at the Kremlin during a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 23, after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of successful air strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, conducted in coordination with Israel over the weekend.
"The completely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification," Putin said, adding that Russia "is making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people."
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, and the true extent of the death toll is simply not known.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a clear and direct violation of both international law and the UN Charter.
Earlier on June 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky on highlighted Russia's hypocrisy for describing U.S. strikes on Iran as "grossly violating international law" just hours before launching yet another deadly mass missile and drone strike on Ukraine.
"After the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, there was an uproar from Moscow," Zelensky said.
"The Russian leadership demonstratively condemned the 'missile and bomb' actions. Today, Moscow is silent — after its own army launched a cynical attack using Russian-Iranian 'Shaheds' and missiles on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities."
Moscow on June 22 condemned the recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
"The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are used, is grossly violating international law, the U.N. Charter, and the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Overnight on June 23 a devastating Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv killed at least 7 people and injured dozens more, including children.
The attack was one of the largest air assaults on the capital this year, with 368 aerial weapons launched, including 159 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 16 missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
Russia has deepened military and political ties with Tehran since and Iran has supplied Moscow with thousands of Shahed-type attack drones used in routine strikes on Ukrainian cities, as well as short-range ballistic missiles.
Russia and Iran have cooperated to develop their own nuclear programs as both countries face Western sanctions. Russia supplied Iran with the Middle East's first nuclear power plant despite objections from the West.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen PostUnited by little more than a hatred of the US-led world order, Russia, China and North Korea are in no doubt that the attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme pose a threat to their marriage of convenience, says Luke McGee
© Kremlin.ru
Russia has lost around 1,012,500 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on June 23.
The number includes 1,010 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 10,965 tanks, 22,872 armored fighting vehicles, 52,861 vehicles and fuel tanks, 29,490 artillery systems, 1,423 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,188 air defense systems, 416 airplanes, 337 helicopters, 41,717 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk
An early morning fire engulfed fuel storage tanks at the Atlas facility in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, following what appears to be another Ukrainian drone strike. The site is considered a critical part of the Russian military’s fuel logistics in its war against Ukraine.
Militarnyi reports that NASA’s FIRMS satellite service recorded an abnormal temperature spike over the Atlas industrial facility in Kamensk district at 3:41 UTC or 06:41 Kyiv Time on 23 June 2025. The site houses 32 fuel tanks, many of which were reportedly engulfed in flames.
Local sources reported a “series of powerful explosions, so strong they triggered car alarms” in Kamensk district around 4 a.m.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 14 drones were shot down in Rostov Oblast. Local governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed a fire, but did not name the affected facility:
“Air defense is still responding to an aerial attack in the northern part of Rostov Oblast. So far, UAVs have been destroyed in the Millerovsky, Kamensky, Tarasovsky, Bokovsky, and Milyutinsky districts. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out at an industrial facility in Kamensky district,” he wrote at 3 a.m., later updating that as of 7:50 the fire was allegedly extinguished.
At the time of publication, no footage from the scene is available to confirm the new damage to the facility.
This is not the first time the Atlas fuel complex has been struck. A similar drone attack caused a massive fire overnight on 29 November 2024. Another strike in August 2024 also targeted the same facility, damaging fuel storage units and triggering a fire.
The depot, located at coordinates 48.457086, 40.330746 near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, lies just 100–150 km from the front lines. Its proximity to the battlefield and its logistical role make it a high-value target in the ongoing war.
Earlier in June, Ukrainian drones hit industrial areas near the Lukoil oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. That attack marked a renewed campaign against Russia’s fuel and energy infrastructure after a pause in such operations.
Just one day prior, on 6 June 2025, the Rosrezerv Kristall fuel depot used by a Russian strategic bomber base in Engels, Saratov Oblast, also suffered a drone strike.
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© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 23 highlighted Russia's hypocrisy for describing U.S. strikes on Iran as "grossly violating international law" just hours before launching yet another deadly mass missile and drone strike on Ukraine.
"After the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, there was an uproar from Moscow," Zelensky said.
"The Russian leadership demonstratively condemned the 'missile and bomb' actions. Today, Moscow is silent — after its own army launched a cynical attack using Russian-Iranian 'Shaheds' and missiles on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities."
Moscow on June 22 condemned the recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
"The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are used, is grossly violating international law, the U.N. Charter, and the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Overnight on June 23 a devastating Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv killed at least 7 people and injured dozens more, including children.
The attack was one of the largest air assaults on the capital this year, with 368 aerial weapons launched, including 159 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 16 missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
After the strikes on Iran's nuclear program facilities, there was a lot of uproar from Moscow — the Russian leadership performatively condemned the “missile-and-bomb” actions. Today, Moscow is silent after the Russian army carried out a completely cynical strike using… pic.twitter.com/xq6TUsfWM2
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 23, 2025
Air defenses intercepted most, but not all. The attack hit six locations directly, causing destruction in 25 separate sites across Kyiv and the wider region.
Governor of Kyiv Oblast Tymur Tkachenko reported 6 people were killed, with 25 other injured in Kyiv alone, including four children.
In his remarks, Zelensky also warned of a growing alliance between Russia, Iran, and North Korea — a "coalition of killers," he said, and urged countries near these regimes to consider whether they can defend themselves if such a bloc continues to spread terror.
"Each country neighboring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should ask whether their own defenses are enough if this axis of evil preserves and remains unchecked," he said.
Zelensky, speaking ahead of meetings with British officials during his visit to the U.K., said he would push for stronger collective air defense and tougher sanctions on Russia.
Zelensky's comments came just a day after Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called for the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program following U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
"Iran is complicit in the crime of aggression against Ukraine," the ministry said in a June 22 statement. "The Iranian regime is providing military assistance to Russia, including the supply of UAVs and technologies that Russia consistently uses to kill people and destroy critical infrastructure."
The statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of successful air strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, conducted in coordination with Israel.
Moscow, which condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has long cooperated with Tehran on nuclear and military matters. Russia supplied Iran with its first nuclear power plant and has relied on Iranian drones throughout its invasion of Ukraine.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
© PA Archive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 22 June that Russian authorities are actively seeking to weaken international sanctions and are preparing new military operations in Europe, citing intelligence reports he received the same day.
According to Zelenskyy’s evening address on 22 June, Russia’s current focus is to combat international sanctions. He stated that the Kremlin is attempting to not only block new sanctions but also soften those already imposed.
“They are trying by every means to bargain not just for the non-application of new sanctions, but also for the weakening of existing ones. We understand how and whom they are using in Europe and in other parts of the world. We are countering this,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to those promoting the sanctions agenda, calling it “the agenda that brings peace closer.”
Russia kills at least seven civilians in Kyiv and nearby towns in pre-dawn air assault
Earlier the same day, Zelenskyy also referred to a separate report from Defense Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov regarding the situation inside Russia and its military-industrial complex. He reiterated that “the key thing Moscow is trying to do is fight sanctions.” The President said Ukrainian intelligence clearly sees Russia’s critical vulnerabilities and is preparing corresponding actions to diminish Moscow’s aggressive potential.
Zelenskyy also claimed that Ukraine has evidence that Russia is preparing new military operations on European territory.
“We see very significant damage caused by sanctions to the Russian economic system, which confirms that our strategy of pressuring Russia to end the war is the correct one,” he said.
Zelenskyy also commented on recent US strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear facilities and condemned Iran’s support for Russia, citing the use of Shahed drones in attacks on Ukraine.
“There must be no proliferation of nuclear weapons in the modern world,” Zelenskyy stressed, noting the need for global diplomatic resolve and stronger collective security.
He welcomed US leadership on the issue and underlined the urgency of coordinated international diplomacy.
New Zealand has committed 16 million New Zealand dollars (approximately $9.5 million) in new aid to Ukraine, combining military and humanitarian support as the country’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon prepares to attend a NATO Summit in The Hague. The package is split between battlefield assistance and relief for war-affected civilians, and builds on New Zealand’s ongoing backing of Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
This latest assistance brings New Zealand’s total aid to Ukraine to more than NZD 168 million (approx. $100 million) since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. That support includes up to 100 New Zealand Defense Force personnel deployed to train Ukrainian troops.
As reported by 1News and RNZ, the NZD 16 million package includes two contributions of NZD 4 million each to multinational military aid initiatives: the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine fund and the UK and Latvia-led Drone Coalition. These funds are intended to provide both lethal and non-lethal equipment and support.
An additional NZD 7 million (around $4.1 million) will fund humanitarian relief for communities inside Ukraine, while NZD 1 million ($600,000) is allocated to help Ukrainians displaced in neighboring countries.
No invitation—not even a mention: Ukraine to be left out of NATO’s summit statement
The announcement came just before Luxon’s scheduled participation in the NATO Summit in The Hague. Speaking to media in Brussels, he emphasized New Zealand’s principled stance.
“Its war of self-defense is well into its fourth year and our condemnation of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion remains undiminished,” he said, as quoted by 1News.
Luxon told reporters,
“There’ll be a lot of conversation, obviously, about the Middle East, but there’ll also be a lot of conversation about Ukraine as well. We may be a long way from these conflicts, but it’s important, if you’ve got values, that you stand up for them, you articulate them, and, where you can, put support to them.”
Zelenskyy: Russia using prisoner exchanges to delay sanctions, weaken US-Ukraine ties
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand would continue collaborating internationally “to uphold a rules-based order that serves all our interests.”
The aid also follows recently announced sanctions on Russian maritime logistics and supply actors, including what RNZ describes as Russia’s “shadow fleet”—a network of vessels and operations circumventing global restrictions.
Russian attacks have killed at least 13 civilians and injured 57 across multiple oblasts over the past day, Ukrainian officials reported on June 23.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed 368 aerial weapons, including 352 attack drones, 11 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 5 Iskander-K cruise missiles, striking primarily Kyiv. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 354 of them.
In Kyiv Oblast, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said a person was killed in Bilotserkivka district, two were hospitalized, and two others received on-site medical aid. Attacks damaged houses in three districts: Boryspil, Bila Tserkva, where a medical facility in a hotel was destroyed, and Bucha, damaging several houses and vehicles.
In Kyiv city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and Kalashnyk reported 6 killed and 25 injured, including a pregnant woman and a child rescued from a damaged 25-story building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
In Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian drone, artillery, and air attacks hit numerous settlements, including Kherson city. Infrastructure damage included seven apartment buildings, 14 houses, a gas pipeline, a garage, and vehicles. One person was killed, and six were wounded. Early June 22, three more people were injured across the oblast.
In Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that a Russian attack killed two residents in Siversk and Myrne, with five more wounded. The numbers exclude casualties in occupied Mariupol and Volnovakha.
In Chernihiv Oblast, Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least three people and injured 11 others, including four teenagers, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said. The attacks damaged houses, businesses, and infrastructure across multiple districts, including Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pryluky, Korukivka, and Novhorod-Siverskyi.
The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak
Russian forces carried out a massive nighttime aerial assault on Kyiv and surrounding areas from 22 to 23 June, killing at least seven civilians and injuring over 30, according to local authorities. Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed that the capital was the main target in what they described as one of the largest air raids in recent weeks.
Suspilne reported that air raid sirens began in Kyiv Oblast at 22:52 on 22 June and in Kyiv city minutes before midnight. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russian forces launched 368 aerial weapons overnight including 352 Shahed explosive drones and decoy UAVs, as well as 16 Iskander ballistic and cruise missiles, from several locations across Russia.
As the Russian Shaheds neared the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said air defense systems were activated as explosions were heard in multiple city districts. In Solomianskyi, drone debris struck residential and commercial buildings. Two people were hospitalized and a fire broke out in a private housing area. In Holosiivskyi district, an office building was damaged. In Darniytskyi, wreckage fell on a two-story residential house. In Sviatoshynskyi, windows shattered and drone parts landed on a stadium, though no injuries were reported.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., Ukraine’s Air Force reported high-speed targets moving from Russian territory toward Bila Tserkva in Kyiv Oblast. Monitoring channels indicated that Russian forces had launched ballistic missiles. A series of explosions followed in Kyiv. The second wave of the missile assault came an hour later.
According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, an entire section of a multi-story residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district collapsed due to a direct hit.
As of 8:42 on 23 June, emergency services reported six fatalities, with the bodies of a couple retrieved from under the rubble. The State Emergency Service (DSNS) said “10 people, including two children and a pregnant woman,” were rescued from the wreckage. Thirteen others were injured, and search efforts continue.
Update: The Russian air attack injured at least 22 civilians in Kyiv city, with 12 of them hospitalized, Suspilne reported.
Kyiv’s city administration said a metro entrance at Sviatoshyn station and a nearby bus stop sustained damage. Fires broke out in multiple areas, including on vehicles and urban infrastructure. Three people injured in Sviatoshynskyi and more in Shevchenkivskyi.
In Kyiv Oblast, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported damage across three districts outside Kyiv city. In Bila Tserkva, a missile hit a two-story hotel containing a private hospital. One woman born in 1957 died from injuries, while two others were hospitalized. Kalashnyk added that fires erupted in residential areas in Bucha and Boryspil, destroying several one-family homes and vehicles.
The DSNS stated that two rescuers were injured during response efforts. Overall, eight people were injured in Kyiv Oblast alone, with most damage centered in Bila Tserkva and Bucha. Emergency services evacuated six critically ill patients from the burning hospital-hotel facility. Over 1,500 square meters burned, and multiple fire teams remain on scene.
“Russia has once again shown that the concept of a civilian object means nothing to it,” the Emergency Service wrote.
By 09:00 on 23 June, the Air Force said it had neutralized 354 targets of 368 Russian aerial weapons.
Operational Command North of Ukraine’s Ground Forces reported that its area of responsibility also saw action. Twenty Russian drones were reportedly shot down, six of them by the Siversk task unit and the rest by air defense components, including mobile teams and electronic warfare.
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