Russian Strikes Kill at Least 25 Across Ukraine, Toll Climbs Again

Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have killed at least 25 people, according to the Washington Post, in an attack Ukrainian officials say they had anticipated. The figure is the highest reported so far from the strikes that have hit Kyiv and other regions this week.

Among the dead, 20 people were killed in a single apartment building, according to the Guardian’s rolling war briefing, which cited President Volodymyr Zelensky condemning the strikes as “vile” attacks on civilians.

A toll that keeps climbing

The confirmed death count has moved upward through the week as Ukrainian officials and wire services update their figures. This desk reported Tuesday that Russia’s Defense Ministry had confirmed a “massive strike” on Kyiv and other regions, with Zelensky citing 11 dead at the time. By Tuesday afternoon, AP’s count had risen to at least 21, with the BBC separately reporting at least 15. The Washington Post’s figure of at least 25, with 20 of those deaths concentrated in one apartment building per the Guardian, indicates the toll has continued to rise as search-and-rescue operations uncovered more victims in residential structures.

Neither the Washington Post’s nor the Guardian’s reporting, as cited here, specifies which city the apartment building was in or details the munitions used. This desk will update those details as they are confirmed.

Kyiv says it saw this coming

The Washington Post’s framing — that Kyiv “saw coming” the attack that produced the latest toll — tracks with Zelensky’s warning earlier this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing a large-scale strike on the capital. That warning came before Russia’s own Defense Ministry confirmed the broader attack, and before the casualty count climbed from 11 to 21 to now at least 25 across successive reports this week.

Zelensky’s “vile” characterization, per the Guardian, is consistent with Ukrainian officials’ response to prior strikes this week, including glide bomb strikes on Kharkiv that killed children.

Sanctions pressure building in parallel

The rising toll comes as Western pressure on Moscow has intensified. The European Union approved a new sanctions package against Russia this week, and a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has pushed for additional Russia sanctions tied to the war. Neither measure has been directly linked by officials to this week’s strikes, but the timing places fresh sanctions action alongside the highest weekly civilian casualty figures reported from Ukraine in recent weeks.

The war’s maritime front has also escalated in parallel. A ship sank in the Black Sea off Bulgaria earlier this week in an attack Kyiv has attributed to Russia, which Moscow has not confirmed, part of a broader pattern of strikes this desk has tracked across air, land, and sea fronts.

What’s unconfirmed

The exact location of the apartment building that accounted for 20 of the 25 confirmed deaths, the weapons used in the strikes behind the Washington Post’s figure, and any single reconciled Ukrainian government toll across the 11, 15, 21, and 25 numbers reported this week have not been independently verified as of this writing. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not issued a public statement addressing the latest casualty figures.

This desk will update the toll and details as Ukrainian officials, Russian officials, or independent monitors release further information.

Have information on the strikes in Ukraine? Email tips@americastrikes.com.