Kyiv hit by large wave of Russian strikes, people feared trapped in apartment building rubble

FILE - Firefighters work at the site of a damaged building of Museum of Chernobyl after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026.

People are feared trapped under the rubble of a multi-story residential building after Russia launched a heavy drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital early Tuesday morning, according to Ukrainian officials.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said an apartment block in Kyiv’s Podilsky district had partially collapsed after a “double tap” Russian strike.

“Preliminary reports indicate that there are people trapped under the rubble,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram.

A suspected missile strike also hit a 24-story residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district, causing a fire, and a blaze broke out in a nine-story building in Podil after debris struck the roof, the mayor said.

At least eight people across the city were wounded in the attacks, which caused power outages in three districts, Klitschko said.

At least four people have been killed and 13 others wounded in Russian attacks on other regions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Monday that a “massive” Russian strike was possible, saying “they have prepared it.”

It came after Russia warned last week that it was beginning “systematic strikes” against military facilities in Kyiv, according to Russian state media.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry had also warned foreign nationals, including staff of diplomatic missions and international organizations, to leave Kyiv “as soon as possible.”