Death toll from massive Russian attack on Kyiv rises to 28, rescue efforts ongoing

The number of people killed in the June 17 Russian missile strike on Kyiv has risen to 28, according to the most recent update by the city’s mayor Vitalii Klitschko.

“So far, the deaths of 28 residents of Kyiv have been confirmed. Rescuers are still working at the scene of the destruction. Employees of the capital's municipal services are helping to clear the rubble,” the mayor wrote on Telegram.

Early on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) reported that the count had gone up to 21. Search and rescue operations continued through the night in the capital’s Solomianskyi District.

“As of 7:00 a.m., the bodies of five more victims have been recovered from the rubble of a partially destroyed nine-story residential building. In total, 16 bodies have been found at that location,” the SES said in a statement released at 7 a.m. Kyiv time.

Following the update from Klitschko, the overall toll from the massive overnight drone and missile attack in Kyiv currently stands at 28 dead and 142 injured, including six children. Ukraine’s Air Force earlier reported intercepting or responding to a total of 472 aerial threats over the course of the assault.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the barrage targeted multiple regions, including Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and the Kyiv Region. He described the strike on the capital as “one of the most horrifying attacks” of the war.

According to a report by Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, the capital was hit by 175 Shahed-type drones, more than 14 cruise missiles, and at least two ballistic missiles. One of the missiles struck a nine-story residential building, where the most casualties occurred.

Tuesday’s barrage was followed by a second wave of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on Wednesday, which killed at least six civilians and injured at least 49, including a teenage boy, according to a report by The Kyiv Independent, citing regional authorities.