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At Least 26 Killed In Russian Missile Strike On Ukraine's Ternopil

By RFE/RL November 19, 2025

Russian missiles hit two apartment buildings in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, killing at least 26 people, including three children, amid an overnight barrage of Russian drones and missiles that wounded scores across the country and drew international condemnation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the wave of strikes a "brazen attack on ordinary life."

Ukrainian media reported that blasts were heard early on November 19 across the Ternopil, Khmelnytskiy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions as the attacks targeted eastern and western Ukraine.

The latest attacks came amid a flurry of efforts to restart stalled peace talks. Ukraine's president was slated to meet in Ankara with Turkey's leader and US officials on November 19. A top Pentagon official and two generals also reportedly traveled to Kyiv for related discussions.

Ukrainian Emergency Services said two high-rise apartment buildings were hit in the city of Ternopil, leaving at least 26 dead, three of whom were children. More than 93 people were injured in the strike, including 18 children.

Rescuers scrambled to pick through debris of collapsed buildings in Ternopil, looking for survivors. A military official said one of the buildings may have been hit by an air-launched cruise missile.

"Every brazen attack against ordinary life proves that the pressure on Russia is still insufficient," Zelenskyy saidin a post on X.

"Russia will never stop on its own. Their goal is to continue the killings, to destroy life in Ukraine. And only by putting strong pressure on the aggressor will we be able to stop this," he wrote in a post on Telegram. "Every life is important. Every life needs protection. And I am grateful to the partners who are ready to put pressure on Russia, help our people, and do everything to restore a just peace."

In a statement, the United Nations condemned the November 19 attack that wounded at least a dozen children, saying their "suffering is unconscionable."

"From Kharkiv in the east to Ternopil and the Ivano-Frankivsk Region in the west, families have lost loved ones, suffered injuries and seen their homes destroyed," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Matthias Schmale.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said she was "appalled" by Russia's latest strikes. "Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. They are unacceptable and must end immediately," she wrote on a post on X.

Ukraine's Energy Ministry said the strikes caused emergency power outages in several regions, with repair crews working to restore electricity where possible.

Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities as the winter months approach, leading to fears of power shortages amid the likely freezing weather. Moscow has also regularly struck Ukrainian civilian areas, although it denies it targets such sites.

Air Defenses Activated In Poland And Romania

The Russian attack on Ukraine's western regions prompted a swift response from neighboring Poland.

The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces confirmed that fighter jets and early-warning aircraft were scrambled due to Russia's strikes near the Polish border.

The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency reported the brief closure of the airports in Rzeszow and Lublin in southeastern Poland "to ensure the freedom of military aviation operations."

Romania has also briefly raised its air defenses after radar detected a drone penetrating about 8 kilometers into national airspace, triggering public alerts in the Tulcea and Galati counties in the eastern part of the country.

Eurofighter and F-16 jets were scrambled, though no debris or impact sites were found, according to a statement from the Romanian Defense Ministry.

Russian Drones Strike Kharkiv

In Ukraine's Kharkiv region, dozens were wounded overnight as Russian drones struck for the third time in three days, officials said on November 19.

Kharkiv police said at least 36 people were injured in the latest overnight attack, which damaged more than 10 apartment buildings, a school, a supermarket, and an ambulance station.

Two children aged 9 and 13 were among those injured, police said, adding that "doctors diagnosed the children with acute stress reactions."

On November 18, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed it had carried out long-range strikes inside Russia using short-range ATACMS missiles.

The Ukrainian military described the action as a "significant development" and said long-range strike operations would continue.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces fired four ATACMS missiles at the city of Voronezh, located in southern Russia.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-launches-wide-scale- strikes-across-ukraine/33595476.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.