At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured after Russia launched a massive overnight drone and missile attack across Ukraine on May 24-25, 2025, according to Ukrainian authorities. The assault struck multiple regions and included hundreds of drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 367 aerial weapons during the attack, including 298 drones and 69 missiles. It reported that 266 drones and 45 cruise missiles were intercepted or otherwise neutralized. The figures were Ukrainian military assessments and could not all be independently verified.
The assault was, at the time, the largest single Russian aerial attack of the full-scale war by the combined number of drones and missiles launched, according to Reuters.
Children Among Those Killed
Three children, aged 8, 12 and 17, were killed in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Ten other people were reported injured there, while private homes were destroyed or damaged.
In the Khmelnytskyi region, regional authorities reported four deaths and five injuries. Six private homes were destroyed and about 20 others were damaged.
Authorities in the Kyiv region reported four people killed and 16 injured, including children. In the capital itself, officials reported injuries, fires and damage to residential buildings, including a dormitory. Residents again sought shelter in Kyiv's metro stations as air-raid warnings and explosions continued during the night.
The attack coincided with Kyiv Day, the annual celebration of the Ukrainian capital.
In the southern city of Mykolaiv, emergency officials said an older man was killed when a drone struck a five-story residential building. Several other people were injured. Authorities also reported casualties and damage in other parts of the country.
What Ukraine Said About the Attack
Ukraine's air force said the overnight assault affected much of the country, with strikes recorded at numerous locations and debris from intercepted weapons falling in additional areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack and called for greater international pressure on Moscow. Russia has repeatedly said its strikes are directed at military or military-related targets, while Ukrainian authorities have documented repeated damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure during Russian attacks.
Casualty totals reported immediately after large-scale attacks can change as emergency crews search damaged buildings and authorities reconcile reports from different regions.
Ukraine Also Launched Drones Toward Russia
Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukrainian drones targeted several Russian regions during roughly the same period. It claimed that Russian air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones between the evening of May 24 and midnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said drones approaching the Russian capital were intercepted. In the Tula region south of Moscow, regional authorities said falling drone debris damaged windows at a residential building but reported no injuries.
Those interception figures were claims by Russian authorities and were not independently verified.
Strikes Came During Major Prisoner Exchange
The escalation occurred while Russia and Ukraine were carrying out the largest prisoner exchange agreed between them since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The exchange was the principal concrete outcome of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks held in Istanbul on May 16, 2025, the first direct negotiations between delegations from the two countries in roughly three years.
On May 23, Ukraine and Russia each exchanged 390 people. Ukraine said its returning group consisted of 270 military personnel and 120 civilians. A second stage on May 24 returned another 307 Ukrainian service members, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
The three-day operation was completed on May 25 with another exchange of 303 prisoners from each side. In total, each country transferred 1,000 people under the agreement, according to subsequent reporting by the Associated Press.
Ceasefire Efforts Had Not Produced an Agreement
The prisoner exchange did not amount to a ceasefire or peace settlement. At the time of the strikes, negotiations over ending the fighting remained unresolved.
Earlier in May, U.S. President Donald Trump held a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Washington sought progress toward a ceasefire. Trump said afterward that Russia and Ukraine would begin negotiations toward ending the war.
Putin said Russia was prepared to work with Ukraine on a memorandum outlining principles and a possible timetable for a future peace agreement, but Moscow had not accepted the proposed unconditional 30-day ceasefire backed by Ukraine and several of its partners.
The May 25 attack therefore underscored the gap between the limited diplomatic progress represented by the prisoner exchange and the continuing intensity of the war. Even as hundreds of captives were returning home, large-scale aerial attacks and fighting continued.
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