Children among 12 killed after Russia launches largest aerial bombardment of Ukraine war

Independent

25-05-2025

Three children were among at least 12 people killed in Ukraine after Russian forces launched the largest aerial bombardment since the war started in February 2022.
Russia launched 367 drones and missiles in Sunday's onslaught, striking more than 30 cities and villages, according to Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force.
Sounds of explosions boomed throughout the night in Kyiv and families in one village near the capital returned to find their homes burned down on Sunday.
In Zhytomyr region, west of the city, the emergency service said three children were killed, aged eight, 12 and 17.
Following the strikes, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the 'silence of America' was encouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin as he called for Western partners to ramp up sanctions on Moscow.
"These were deliberate strikes on ordinary cities," Mr Zelensky wrote on X, adding that Sunday's targets included Kyiv, where university dormitories were hit, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions.
'Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia,' he said.
'Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day.'
'America's silence, the silence of others in the world, only encourages" Mr Putin, he added.
"Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help."
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the strikes.
The aerial attacks came hours before Russia and Ukraine completed the final stage of a major prisoner exchange, with 1,000 swapped between the two countries.
Russia's Defence Ministry said each side brought home 303 more soldiers, after each released a total of 307 combatants and civilians on Saturday and 390 on Friday.
President Zelensky confirmed the exchange, saying on X on Sunday that "303 Ukrainian defenders are home".
He noted that the troops returning to Ukraine were members of the "Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service".
The swap was agreed in talks held in Istanbul earlier this month - the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks.
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the country faced a 'sleepless night' as they were bombarded in the widespread aerial assault, which saw fires break out after falling drone debris hit homes and businesses.
At least four people were killed in the capital itself, according to the security service, while 16 were injured.
The three children were killed in in Zhytomyr region, where another 12 people were injured.
A further four people were killed Khmelnytskyi region, in western Ukraine, with another fatality reported in the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine.
In the village of Markhalivka, just outside Kyiv, devastated residents returned to find home burned down with their pets inside.
"The street looks like Bakhmut, like Mariupol, it's just terrible," said 76-year-old Liubov Fedorenko, comparing their village to some of Ukraine's most devastated cities.
She said she was grateful her daughter and grandchildren had not joined them for the weekend.
"I was trying to persuade my daughter to come to us," Ms Fedorenko said.
"She said, 'No, mum, I'm not coming'. And thank God she didn't come, because the rocket hit (the house) on the side where the children's rooms were.'
Ivan Fedorenko, 80, said he regrets letting their two dogs into the house when the air raid siren went off.
"They burned to death," he said. "I want to bury them, but I'm not allowed yet."