Published: 15:40, June 17, 2025 | Updated: 15:53, June 17, 2025
At least 15 killed, 75 injured in major Russian attack on Ukraine
By Xinhua
Residents react after a Russian missile hit a multi-story apartment during Russia's missile and drone air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 17, 2025. (PHOTO / AP)

KYIV/VLADIVOSTOK - At least 15 people were killed and 75 others injured in Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine overnight Tuesday, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a statement.

The capital Kyiv was hit hardest in the attack, where a ballistic missile struck a nine-story apartment building, killing 14 people and injuring 60 others, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency cited the minister as saying.

In the southern city of Odesa, one person was killed and 10 others injured. Casualties were also reported in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Russia launched a total of 175 drones, along with more than 14 cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles at the capital, hitting residential areas.

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The Interior Ministry said that 27 locations in Kyiv, including apartment buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities, were under attack overnight.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the sites of the strikes, the State Service for Emergencies said.

In this screengrab taken from a handout footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Sept 10, 2024, Russia's Pacific Fleet warships sail in the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan during the "Ocean-2024" naval drills off the far eastern city of Vladivostok. (PHOTO / AFP)

Pacific Fleet conducts scheduled drills 

Separately, Russia's Pacific Fleet has started a scheduled military exercise in the Far East, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement published on its website Monday.

According to the statement, the exercise began in accordance with its annual training plan for the Russian Navy and is being led by Admiral Viktor Liina, commander-in-chief of the fleet.

The drills, scheduled for June 16 to 30, take place in designated naval training zones across the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.

During the exercise, participating forces are expected to practice a wide range of combat and support tasks, including submarine detection and tracking, naval convoy air and anti-ship defense, and coordinated missile strikes against both individual and group maritime targets.

Also, the exercise includes tests for the fleet's logistical and technical support capabilities while operating far from its main bases.

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More than 40 warships, boats and support vessels, over 30 aircraft and helicopters from the Pacific Fleet's naval aviation, as well as over 5,000 military personnel and civilian specialists are taking part. Coastal missile units equipped with Bastion missile systems are also involved in the operation.