By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Current Time October 25, 2025

At least two people were killed and 13 injured in Kyiv overnight after a wave of Russian ballistic missiles triggered powerful explosions and fires across the Ukrainian capital, city military authorities said on October 25.

A kindergarten in the Dniprovskiy district was damaged and large blazes broke out in nonresidential areas of the Desnianskiy and Darnytskiy districts.

Meanwhile, two people were killed in strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, local authorities said.

Ukraine's air force said Russia carried out a large overnight mixed strike across the country, launching nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles from the Rostov and Kursk regions and 62 attack drones from several directions, including Kursk and Oryol in Russia and Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea.

The military said air defenses downed four missiles and 50 drones while confirming impacts across 11 locations as morning assessments continued.

Elsewhere, Russian outlets claim Ukrainian forces launched several HIMARS rockets at the Belgorod reservoir dam.

Authorities initially said there was no flooding threat to nearby settlements, but Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov later warned that the dam could be destroyed if strikes continue and said officials are "suggesting" that roughly 1,000 residents in at‑risk areas should evacuate.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment publicly on the specific strike, consistent with Kyiv's general policy of operational ambiguity regarding cross-border attacks

The overnight escalation also intersected with a new diplomatic signal from Moscow.