Valeria Syniuk (65) sits near her badly damaged home. She was asleep when a Russian missile destroyed the building opposite hers. Kyiv, Ukraine
On 24 April 2025, Russia launched one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Missiles and drones struck at least five residential neighborhoods overnight, killing 13 people and wounding 90.
The previous day, US President Donald Trump had publicly accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by refusing to cede territory to Russia, as the latest round of international peace negotiations collapsed in London.
Russia’s intensifying air campaign continues to devastate life across Ukraine, systematically targeting energy infrastructure, the healthcare system, and educational institutions. For many Ukrainians, air raid sirens have become a constant backdrop to daily life. Researchers have begun documenting “drone-induced anxiety,” an emerging medical term for the psychological toll of living under persistent aerial threat.
April 2025 was the worst month for child casualties in nearly three years. According to the UN, by February 2026, at least 15,364 civilians had been killed since the invasion began. On 24 March 2026, Russia launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine over a 24-hour period since the invasion began, targeting cities across the country with 948 drones.
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