Kyiv, 17 June 2025 – A combined drone and missile barrage by Russian armed forces overnight between 16 and 17 June appears to be the deadliest on Kyiv in almost a year, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said today. According to local authorities, the attack killed at least 14 civilians and injured 114 in Kyiv. HRMMU’s team is working to verify the number of civilian casualties and assess the full extent of the damage.
This latest attack comes as Russian armed forces have in recent weeks intensified nightly strikes with long-range weapons across the country, ‘swarming’ cities with hundreds of drones and missiles. Ukrainian authorities reported that, in the overnight barrage, 440 long-range drones and 32 missiles were launched by the Russian Federation into Ukraine, of which 175 drones and 14 missiles were directed at Kyiv city. The attack struck at least 30 locations across seven districts in Kyiv.
"In a countrywide assault last night, Kyiv bore the brunt," said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. "With at least 14 civilians reportedly killed and more than 100 injured, this is the deadliest attack in Kyiv in nearly a year."
The last time Kyiv saw comparable or higher numbers of civilian casualties was on 8 July 2024, when at least 32 civilians were killed and 85 injured in an attack that also damaged the Okhmadyt Children’s hospital.
In addition to the civilian casualties in Kyiv, at least one civilian was also reportedly killed and 19 injured in Odesa, Chernihiv region and the greater Kyiv region from the use of long-range weapons.
Ukrainian authorities have reported that at least 3,340 long-range drones (loitering munitions and decoy drones) and 135 missiles were launched into Ukraine during the first 17 days of June. Last night’s attack was the fourth time this month that Russian armed forces launched more than 400 munitions in a single night. By comparison, Russian armed forces launched 544 long-range munitions during the entire month in June 2024.
Before last night’s attack, HRMMU had verified that long-range weapons — or falling debris from their interception – had killed at least 29 civilians and injured at least 126 so far in June, in Kharkiv, Kyiv and other cities. As reported in HRMMU’s May Protection of Civilians Update, long-range missiles and drones have contributed to high levels of civilian casualties across the country this year. Nearly 50 per cent more civilians have been killed and injured in Ukraine in the first five months of 2025 than during the same period in 2024.
"Last night’s attack exemplifies the grave threat posed by the tactic of deploying missiles and large numbers of drones simultaneously into populated areas, which leads to civilian casualties, and profound suffering," Bell added.
