Ukraine updates: Kyiv targeted in deadly wave attack

• Russia launches more than 440 drones and 32 missiles in overnight wave attack
• Ukraine questions response from 'civilised world' to continued Russian attacks
• Russia's security chief reported to be in Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong Un

Read below for the main developments from Russia's war in Ukraine from Tuesday, June 17, 2025:

06/17/2025June 17, 2025

Zelenskyy says global powers 'turn a blind eye' to Russian attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Canada for one-on-one talks with world leaders at the G7 summit, said the Russian attacks on Ukraine "are pure terrorism."

Zelenskyy said "the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists."

"Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to go on," Zelenskyy said on X.

"It is wrong when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it. We are in contact with all partners at every possible level to ensure an appropriate response. It is the terrorists who must feel the pain, not innocent peaceful people," the Ukrainian leader said.

06/17/2025June 17, 2025

More than a dozen killed and scores injured in Russian aerial bombardment

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 15 people have been killed and 75 people have been injured following a large-scale Russian attack.

"Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks. Also, overnight, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions were attacked," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. 

The president said there were ongoing efforts to rescue an unknown number of people trapped beneath the rubble of a residential building in the capital.

Ukraine's military said that more than 440 drones and 32 missiles were used in the overnight bombardment.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said in a statement Tuesday that "the nature of the damage is direct hits on residential buildings. Rockets — from the upper floors to the basement."

AP photographer Efrem Lukatsky captures the moment a Russian drone flies towards a building in Kyiv on Tuesday, June 17, 2025Image: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/picture alliance

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that a US citizen had been killed in the attack after being struck by shrapnel.

Klymenko told reporters at the scene that thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block after it was hit by a missile.

"We have 27 locations that were attacked by the enemy. We currently have over 2,000 people working there, rescuers, police, municipal
services and doctors," Klymenko said of one of the attacks.

Ukraine's president had been due to meet US President Donald Trump  in Canada on Tuesday but the White House said Trump would be returning to Washington  as the situation between Israel and Iran escalates.

06/17/2025June 17, 2025

Top Russian security official in North Korea

ergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, steps off his plane at Pyongyang International Airport on June 17, 2025Image: TASS via ZUMA Press/picture alliance

State media in Russia has reported that Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu is in North Korea for talks with leader Kim Jong Un.

Russia's Tass news agency said Shoigu was on an unspecified "special" mission from Russia's president.

Shoigu, "arrived in Pyongyang on special orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin to exchange with North Korean officials in the framework of putting in place the agreements reached during his last visit on June 4," a council statement was quoted as saying.

North Korean has supplied Russia with thousands of soldiers as Moscow continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The countries have strengthened military cooperation with a sweeping military deal signed last year which included a mutual defense clause when Putin made a rare visit to the reclusive regime.

06/17/2025June 17, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Kieran Burke | Zac Crellin

An overnight Russian missile and drone bombardment on Kyiv has killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called it "one of the most horrific attacks" as Russia appears to be ramping up the intensity of its overnight strikes.

Meanwhile Russia's top security official has traveled to North Korea for talks with regime leader Kim Jong Un.

That's as G7 leaders meet in Canada with a host of ongoing crises dominating talks.

Zelenskyy had been due to meet with US President Donald Trump at the summit, however, the White House said he would be cutting his attendance at the summit short.

Follow DW for real-time news and analysis of Russia's war in Ukraine.