Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin accused of escalating war after Kyiv apartment block strike kills nine

Rescuers search for survivors after deadly Russian strike in Kyiv's DarnytskyiRussian president Vladimir Putin is “banking on escalation rather than negotiation,” German chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday after a massive attack on Ukraine and its capital Kyiv flattened an apartment block and killed at least 21 people.Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used ballistic and cruise missiles in the attack and launched more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian population centres since Wednesday.At least nine people were killed in a devastating strike that destroyed some 18 apartments in one block, with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that two children were among the dead.Klitschko declared Friday as a day of mourning for the victims.Merz said the Russian attacks "speak a different language" to the public statements from Vladimir Putin suggesting the war could be nearing an end.“Kyiv and its partners are ready for negotiations aimed at a just peace,” said Merz. “Russia, for its part, is continuing the war.”Russia claims it attacked Ukraine's military facilities but stays silent on 21 civilians killedRussia’s defence ministry said its forces aimed at Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including air bases and fuel and transport facilities, claiming it hit all its targets in the attacks yesterday.Among the weapons deployed, it said, were Kinzhal missiles, which Moscow says can fly 10 times the speed of sound.The attacks reported from Ukraine were mostly from neighbourhoods and civilian areas, in which a school, a veterinary clinic and several apartment buildings housing civilians were hit.At least 21 people were killed and more than two dozen were reported injured in the attacks.Russian drones also struck a vehicle carrying UN staff who were delivering aid to residents of Kherson in southern Ukraine, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.The vehicle was marked and was attacked twice, in two different locations, but nobody was hurt, he said.Firefighters work at a site of the apartment building damaged during yesterday's Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv (Reuters)Arpan Rai15 May 2026 05:59Finland shuts air traffic after drone activity in HelsinkiFinnish authorities warned of suspected ⁠drone ​activity in ⁠the country's capital region, ⁠and Helsinki ​airport said ⁠it ‌had temporarily suspended traffic this morning."Authorities are taking ‌action. The Defence ‌Forces have enhanced their own ⁠surveillance and response capabilities. I urge everyone to follow the authorities' bulletins," prime minister ‌Petteri Orpo ​said ‌in a ⁠statement on ⁠X. Arpan Rai15 May 2026 05:49Defence secretary condemns Putin's 'shocking' attack on KyivDefence secretary John Healey has called the attack on Ukraine yesterday “shocking” and said he had accelerated UK deliveries of air defences.“Shocking Russian drone attacks on Ukraine over the last 24 hours. I’ve directed for UK deliveries of air defence and counter-drone systems to be accelerated as fast as possible,” he said in a post on X.He added: “We stand with Ukraine in the face of Putin’s aggression. Our thoughts are with Ukrainian families.”Arpan Rai15 May 2026 05:32Kyiv marks day of mourning after 21 killed in brutal Russian strikesThe Ukrainian capital will be observing a day of mourning for the victims of the latest Russian attack that killed at least 21 people yesterday, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.Russia carried out its largest aerial attack over a two-day period since the start of its war in Ukraine, pounding the capital Kyiv and other cities with hundreds of drones, Ukrainian officials said.Russia launched a total of 1,567 drones since the start of Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.Kyiv was ⁠the main target of the overnight strikes, he added.Ukraine's State Emergency Services said at least 21 people, including ​three children, ⁠were killed in the capital.Emergency workers were seen moving carefully across piles of rubble and cutting through concrete at the site of a strike on a nine-storey residential building where an entire section had been destroyed.“There were people there, children. What happened to them? You have to understand, an entire building collapsed," Alla Komisarova, 74, a pensioner, said on the site of the strike, holding back tears.“I heard something flying, it's flying nearby... And then there was such a terrible sound, and our house, which is opposite (to the one hit) jumped and staggered,” she said.(Reuters)Arpan Rai15 May 2026 05:08Putin 'betting on escalation, not negotiations', German chancellor Merz says after deadly assaultGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz has condemned Russia's aerial bombardment of Ukraine, saying it contradicts Vladimir Putin's claims to want an end to the war."The largest Russian attacks on Ukraine in recent times show that Moscow is betting on escalation of the conflict, not negotiations," he said on X yesterday."We continue to stand with Ukraine. Kyiv and its partners are ready for talks on a just peace. Russia, however, continues to wage war," Merz said. German chancellor Friedrich Merz listens to speeches in Aachen, western Germany (AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai15 May 2026 04:50Briefing: What we know on the 1,541st day of Ukraine warKyiv is observing a day of mourning today after a major Russian attack left 21 dead and dozens woundedUkraine president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia launched 1,567 drones since the start of Wednesday, just days after president Vladimir Putin said the war was "coming to an end”At least 180 facilities were damaged by the attacks in Ukraine, including more than 50 residential buildingsA UN Office for the Coordination of ‌Humanitarian Affairs vehicle came under fire from Russian drones during a humanitarian mission in the southern city of ​Kherson, says ZelenskyGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz says Russia’s heavy bombardment showed that Putin was “banking on escalation rather than negotiation” Arpan Rai15 May 2026 04:38