Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, endured a massive wave of missile and drone strikes early on Sunday, resulting in at least four fatalities and dozens more injured. Two individuals were killed within the capital, with an additional two deaths reported in the surrounding region. The intense assault wounded 56 people, 30 of whom required hospitalization, and caused widespread damage to buildings across the city center, including government offices, residential structures, schools, supermarkets, and warehouses. Damage was recorded across at least nine of Kyiv's districts, with a school building in the Shevchenko district sustaining damage while people were sheltering inside.

The attacks came shortly after Ukraine's air force warned of a potential launch of Russia's hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed that Russia had indeed deployed the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile in the assault, a confirmation echoed by Russia's Defence Ministry. Zelenskyy had issued a warning a day prior, citing intelligence indicating a possible attack with the multiple-warhead missile. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously boasted about the Oreshnik, stating it streaks at more than 10 times the speed of sound, is capable of destroying underground bunkers several floors deep, travels "like a meteorite," and is immune to any missile defense system. He also added that several such missiles, even with conventional warheads, could be as devastating as a nuclear strike. The Oreshnik was first used on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024 and a second time in January in the western Lviv region. Russia has also deployed the Oreshnik to its ally Belarus, which borders Ukraine and three NATO member states: Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.

In response to the use of such weaponry, President Zelenskyy warned that any deployment of the Oreshnik missile "sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors." He emphasized that if Russia is permitted to inflict destruction on such a scale, no agreement will deter similar regimes from aggression. Zelenskyy called for a preventive global response and increased pressure on Moscow to prevent the war from expanding. Canada strongly condemned Russia’s attack on civilian targets in Kyiv, with Prime Minister Mark Carney urging Moscow to immediately cease the strikes and its "illegal war of aggression." Carney asserted that the attacks prolong human suffering and do not alter the fact that Russia will ultimately lose the war, having gravely underestimated the courage and strength of the Ukrainian people.

Adding to the conflict's grim toll, reports emerged of the death of Ayrton Redfearn, a 23-year-old Briton, in the Donetsk region on May 9. His mother, Natasha, confirmed to the BBC that her son, from Devon, had joined a specialist unit supporting the Ukrainian army in 2025. She expressed her constant fear of receiving bad news and hoped to emulate her son's strength and bravery to cope with his loss. Redfearn, a former member of the Torquay Air Cadets and the RAF, was due to receive a bravery award days after his death. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed it is supporting Redfearn's family and is in contact with Ukrainian authorities, while reiterating its warning that British nationals fighting in Ukraine face a high risk of maltreatment.

Meanwhile, the conflict's impact extends beyond direct military action. Russia had earlier warned of "inevitable and severe punishment" for an alleged Ukrainian strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied Starobilsk in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow claimed killed 18 people and wounded 42, with some still trapped in rubble. Ukraine denied targeting civilians, insisting it had struck a Russian Rubicon drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area. The UN strongly condemned all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, though it noted restricted access prevented verification of details in Starobilsk. In Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories, a college is equivalent to a vocational school, typically for students aged 15 to 22 years.

Amidst the escalating violence, acclaimed Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev made an impassioned plea to Vladimir Putin to end the "carnage" in Ukraine. Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival after his new movie, "Minotaur," set during the war, won the Grand Prix award, Zvyagintsev stated that millions on both sides dream of an end to the massacres, and that Putin is the only person who can stop this "meat grinder." These events underscore the ongoing intensity of the conflict, with Moscow having launched mass barrages of missiles and drones almost daily since the full-scale offensive began in 2022, while US-led efforts to negotiate an end to the war have seen little progress.