Kyiv mourns as death toll from Russian attack in the Ukrainian capital rises to 24

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The decease toll from a Russian rocket onslaught that flattened a Kyiv flat gathering roseate Friday to 24, including 3 teenagers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said arsenic helium led the mourning for 1 of the deadliest attacks connected the superior successful the 4-year-old war.

The cruise rocket deed the nine-story country flat artifact Thursday during what the Ukrainian aerial unit said was Russia’s biggest barrage connected the state of the full-scale invasion. Emergency workers finished digging done the rubble searching for victims aft much than a day, Zelenskyy said connected X.

Crowds of grieving radical — galore of them children — streamed toward a makeshift memorial beneath a histrion adjacent the destroyed building.

Teenagers clutching bouquets arrived successful groups and broke into tears arsenic they approached the increasing mound of flowers and stuffed toys beside photographs of the dead. A representation of a miss successful a schoolhouse uniform, posed against a agleam yellowish backdrop, was among the photos.

Zelenskyy and different apical authorities officials visited the tract to wage tribute to the dead, arsenic did Kyiv-based overseas diplomats.

Russia has hammered Ukraine with large-scale aerial attacks successful the days since a May 9-11 ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump said helium asked Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to observe. Fighting continued implicit those 72 hours, though reportedly connected a lesser scale.

This week’s attacks ran antagonistic to caller suggestions from Trump and Putin that the warfare is adjacent to ending.

The battle mostly targeted the Ukrainian capital, wherever 48 radical were wounded, including 2 children, Zelenskyy said.

He said Moscow had launched much than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian colonisation centers since Wednesday, adding that astir 180 sites crossed the state were damaged, including much than 50 residential buildings.

Previously, the biggest Russian drone onslaught was connected March 23-24 erstwhile Moscow’s forces fired astir 1,000 drones and missiles astatine Ukraine. Thursday's decease toll successful Kyiv approached 1 from July 2024 that killed 32 civilians and injured different 85.

Russia reports a Ukrainian onslaught connected Ryazan

Ukraine has besides built up important long-range capabilities, and Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that its aerial defenses downed 355 Ukrainian drones overnight successful 1 of the largest barrages of the war. Several airports suspended flights overnight due to the fact that of the attacks.

A Ukrainian drone struck Ryazan, a metropolis astir 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Moscow, killed 4 people, including a child, determination Gov. Pavel Malkov said. Massive plumes of achromatic fume roseate from a occurrence astatine an lipid refinery. Ukraine has targeted Russian lipid facilities to effort to contradict captious gross for Moscow and rattle the Kremlin.

Ukrainian officials made nary contiguous remark connected the Ryazan strike.

The cruise rocket that deed the Kyiv flat gathering was built successful the 2nd 4th of this year, Zelenskyy said, seemingly aft Ukrainian experts analyzed the wreckage.

“This means Russia is inactive importing the components, resources and instrumentality indispensable for rocket accumulation successful circumvention of planetary sanctions,” helium said successful different station connected X precocious Thursday. “Stopping Russia’s sanctions evasion schemes indispensable beryllium a genuine precedence for each our partners.”

Also connected Friday, Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war, 1 of an occasional exchange.

Zelenskyy said it was the archetypal signifier of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians person been held by Russia since 2022 and fought successful immoderate of the war’s fiercest battles, helium added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the speech and thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping to broker it.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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