Russia strikes Kyiv with Kh-101 missiles

Russian forces launched a combined overnight strike on Kyiv on May 24, with Ukrainian and local reports saying cruise missiles and drones hit the capital and caused fires, building damage and casualties. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed and at least 21 were injured, including a 15-year-old boy, while emergency crews responded across the city. Ukrainian media reports and local imagery showed damage to residential buildings, a school, commercial property and other civilian sites. Social media posts circulated by ConflictTR on X also showed destruction in the city after the attack. ### Which weapons were reported in the overnight attack? Ukrainian media reports on May 24 said Russia used a mix of missiles and drones in the attack on Kyiv, with Kh-101 cruise missiles identified as a main component alongside other missile types and unmanned aerial vehicles. One report by 24 Kanal, citing monitoring channels, described the strike as one of the most massive against Kyiv in the 2025-2026 period. (censor.net) ConflictTR posts on X said Russian forces used Kh-101 cruise missiles and kamikaze drones in the overnight strike. Those posts included images of damaged structures and debris but did not specify casualty figures or exact strike locations. ### How extensive was the damage inside Kyiv? Kyiv sustained damage in at least eight districts, according to a report by Censor.NET citing Ukraine’s State Emergency Service press center. (24tv.ua) The report said fires and destruction were recorded in residential buildings, a business center, a market area, a school, warehouses, garages, a shopping center and a supermarket. (censor.net) The Shevchenkivskyi district was among the hardest hit, with a fire reported on the second floor of a school and damage in a five-story residential building, where a blaze spread from the first to the fifth floors, the report said. The same report said a nine-story residential building was struck between the eighth and ninth floors, where one person was preliminarily reported killed. (censor.net) Obolon, Pechersk, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Desnianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts also recorded fires or structural damage, according to the same account. In Darnytskyi, firefighters were evacuating residents from a two-story dormitory after a roof fire spread across about 150 square meters. ### What do officials say about casualties? (censor.net) Vitali Klitschko said the number of injured in Kyiv had risen to 21, with 13 hospitalized and three in serious condition, according to the Kyiv city portal and Censor.NET. The reports said eight people were treated at the scene. A separate 24 Kanal report later said one person had been killed and 44 injured, while rescue workers were operating at more than 40 locations across the capital. (censor.net) That suggests the casualty count was still changing as emergency teams assessed the aftermath. ### Why is the Kh-101 drawing attention? President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a previous Kyiv strike on May 14 that a residential building had been hit by a Kh-101 missile manufactured in 2026, according to Ukrainska Pravda. (censor.net) Ukrainian officials said debris from that earlier attack showed recently produced components, including Western-made parts, in one of Russia’s most advanced cruise missiles. (24tv.ua) That earlier attack does not by itself confirm the manufacturing date of every missile used on May 24, but it helps explain why reports of Kh-101 use in Kyiv are receiving close scrutiny from Ukrainian officials and media. ### What is known next? Emergency services were still working on May 24 at dozens of sites across Kyiv, and local officials were continuing to update casualty and damage totals. (pravda.com.ua) Kyiv city authorities and Ukraine’s emergency services are expected to publish further statements as rescue work continues and strike locations are fully assessed. (censor.net)