Kyiv, May 15, 2026 (Reuters) — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy demanded that Moscow be held to account after he laid red roses at the rubble of an apartment block in Kyiv where a Russian missile strike killed 24 people, including three children.
Rescue teams called off search operations at the heavily damaged building in the Darnytskyi district on the left bank of the Dnipro River after working around the clock following Thursday’s strike, which came amid Russia’s heaviest air assault on the capital this year.
Zelenskiy praised first responders for working non-stop for more than a day and said the attack had effectively levelled a section of the building. He urged international partners to increase pressure on Russia and to help strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.
Ukrainian officials said Russia launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles at targets across Ukraine over two consecutive days. Six people were also killed in western Ukraine, well away from the front lines.
Kyiv declared a day of mourning, lowering flags to half-mast across the city of about 3 million people and suspending entertainment events. Residents left flowers, stuffed animals and sweets at a makeshift memorial beside the destroyed block.
The Interior Ministry said hundreds of rescuers had sifted through roughly 3,000 cubic metres of rubble during 28 hours of searching. City officials reported 24 bodies recovered, about 30 people pulled alive from the wreckage, nearly 50 wounded and roughly 400 people in need of psychological support.
A local resident who brought red roses said a friend who lived on the second floor was found in the rubble alongside her husband. She added that, despite the devastation, Ukrainians would not surrender and remained resilient.
Zelenskiy said initial analysis indicated the building had been hit by a recently produced Russian Kh-101 missile. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but during the course of the war it has frequently struck residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry told state media that its forces had carried out massive strikes on Ukraine between May 12 and 15.
Fighting has not been one-sided: Ukraine has conducted drone attacks into Russia. Russian regional officials said four people, including a child, were killed in an attack on the central city of Ryazan that damaged high-rise apartments and hit an industrial site. Ukraine said it had struck an oil refinery in Ryazan.
The strike on the Kyiv apartment block has intensified calls from Ukrainian leaders for greater international support and tougher measures against Russia as Kyiv mourns the victims and assesses the human and material cost of the latest bombardment.
