Russian forces struck a residential high-rise in Kyiv with a Shahed drone on Monday, Oct. 12, killing two people and injuring at least nine, according to local authorities.
The drone hit a 25-story apartment building in the capital’s Darnytskyi district between the 12th and 16th floors, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko initially reported at 7:19 p.m. local time.
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According to the latest reports, two people were killed and at least nine others were injured in the attack. Three of the injured were hospitalized, Klitschko said.
He urged residents to remain in shelters as explosions were still being heard in the city at the time of the report. Around the same time, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) warned that a high-speed target was heading toward Kyiv.
Earlier on Monday, debris from a downed drone fell near a building in Kyiv’s central Pechersk district and started a fire. According to the Kyiv Mayor, emergency crews quickly put the fire out, and no casualties were reported in the incident.
Zelensky calls for pressure on Moscow
During his evening address, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes and urged its allies, particularly the US, for increased pressure on Russia.
“It is Russia that continues these brutal strikes. It is Russia that is prolonging the war. Even now, in response to the American proposal, it is sending Shahed drones,” Zelensky said.
“We hope the United States will recognize these signals from Russia and act decisively. Strength is needed to force Russia to end this war,” he concluded.
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The strike came amid rising friction between Ukraine and the US.
Instead of increasing pressure on Moscow, as Kyiv has urged, Trump on Oct. 9 announced a diesel arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, under which Russia agreed to supply up to 4.8 million tons of fuel to US and global markets.
The US Treasury then temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel until April 7, 2027.
The move came only three weeks after US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which granted him the power to sanction all entities and individuals linked to the Kremlin’s war effort, including Putin’s own network.
Rather than using the law’s tools to pressure Moscow – including tariffs of up to 500% on Russian imports and up to 100% on goods from countries that purchase Russian energy – Trump eased sanctions on Russian diesel, which may violate the law.
Days after, on Oct. 11, Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, although neither Moscow nor Kyiv had confirmed the agreement beforehand.
Concurrently on Monday, Zelensky said there was no indication that Russia was complying with the truce, even though Ukraine had refrained from striking Russian energy facilities overnight.
Meanwhile, Trump defended his diesel agreement with Russia, despite condemnation from both US parties, European allies and Ukraine. “I made the right choice for the American People – ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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