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According to reports, at least 18 people died in the capital, where densely populated residential areas sustained significant damage and several neighbourhoods had to be evacuated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSearch and rescue operations are ongoing to save people trapped beneath the rubble<\/strong> of collapsed residential buildings, including a 15-year-old girl and her family<\/strong>,\u201d\u00a0said Matthias Schmale, the UN\u2019s top aid official in Ukraine.<\/p>\n In a statement condemning the violence, Mr. Schmale noted that many of Kyiv\u2019s three million residents spent up to 11 hours in bomb shelters<\/strong> or taking cover at home \u201cto the terrifying sounds of war\u201d.<\/p>\n In addition to those killed in Kyiv, nearly 90 people were injured, including several children, in what the city\u2019s mayor described as the \u201cmost massive attack\u201d, while national media reported apartment blocks and a hotel set ablaze.<\/p>\n Among those injured were several health workers and ambulance drivers after an ambulance station was struck and several vehicles were damaged.<\/p>\n Nearly every part of the capital sustained damage, Mr. Schmale explained, with multiple homes, a hotel, market and other civilian facilities destroyed or damaged.<\/p>\n Between December 2025 and May 2026, civilian casualties\u00a0<\/strong>increased\u00a0<\/strong>by 40 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier<\/strong>, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cCivilians in Kyiv and across the country should not be bracing for yet another attack<\/strong>; they are protected under international humanitarian law,\u201d Mr. Schmale stressed.<\/p>\n He noted that the latest attacks on densely populated areas across Ukraine are part of a \u201ccontinuing deadly pattern\u201d, while in Russia and occupied Ukrainian Crimea, a growing number of swarm drone attacks attributed in media reports to Ukrainian forces have caused major disruption to oil facilities and closed Moscow airports.<\/p>\n Across Ukraine, aid organizations provide emergency support to nearly one million people affected by strikes by Russia, whose full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022.<\/p>\n This vital relief includes first aid, shelter, protection, cash assistance and mental health support \u2013 a widespread but largely unseen consequence of the war.<\/p>\nMedics hit<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Deadly pattern<\/h2>\n