A Russian drone struck a kindergarten in the eastern city of Kharkiv on Wednesday (22 October), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Ukraine's emergency services reported that 48 children had been evacuated and taken to a safe location.

Witnesses described scenes of panic, with children crying and asking for their parents.

"I made my way through the rescuers to get to the child... a mother would jump in and pull her child out of the fire," said one mother, Ksenia Kalmykova. Her child was in the kindergarten at the moment of the attack.

Ukraine’s emergency service reports that at least one person was killed and six others were injured in the shelling of Kharkiv.

Reuters footage showed a dead man inside an ambulance near the kindergarten.

The strike followed a night of heavy attacks that killed at least six people, including two children, in Kyiv and the surrounding region, and caused nationwide power outages, Ukrainian officials said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KHARKIV, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 22, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. DAMAGED BUILDING OF KINDERGARTEN, RESCUER CLEARING DEBRIS

2. RESCUERS AT BURNING ROOF

3. CHILDREN'S SCOOTERS

4. DAMAGED CLASSROOM

5. DEBRIS WITH PILLOW COVERED IN BLOOD ON TOP

6. MOTHER CARRYING BOY

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) 43-YEAR-OLD HELPED TO EVACUATE CHILDREN, ALONA (NO SURNAME GIVEN), SAYING:

"The children were very scared. They cried. We calmed them down. One girl had minor cuts. I provided first aid. We evacuated the children to the shelter and calmed them down as they were crying. Children are children. They asked for their parents. They were worried and scared, they were shaking, and they were stressed out."

8. DAMAGED CLASSROOM

9. SMOKE RISING FROM BUILDING

10. RESCUERS INSIDE KINDERGARTEN

11. AMBULANCE WITH POLICE OFFICERS, MEDICS

12. KILLED PERSON INSIDE AMBULANCE

13. AMBULANCE

14. DESTROYED CAR, RESCUERS PASSING BY

15. RESCUER CLEARING DEBRIS

16. DAMAGED BUILDING EXTERIOR

17. RESCUERS CLEARING DEBRIS

18. PAINTINGS HANGING ON WALL / DESTROYED CEILING

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) FATHER OF BOY WHO WAS IN KINDERGARTEN, OLEKSANDR HUSENKOV, SAYING:

“I don't know how to react to this. Firing at children is probably not a good thing to do right?."

20. MOTHER OF CHILD WHO WAS IN KINDERGARTEN, KSENIA KALMYKOVA, WITH DAUGHTER ANASTASIA, AND PSYCHOLOGIST

21. PSYCHOLOGISTS PLAYING WITH ANASTASIA IN SHELTER

22. EVACUATED CHILDREN IN SHELTER WITH RESCUERS, ADULTS

23. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) 44-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF CHILD WHO WAS IN KINDERGARTEN, KSENIA KALMYKOVA, SAYING:

"Grandpa called to ask where Nastya (diminutive of Anastasia) is. I told him that she was in class. He mentioned the attacks and I dropped the bags and ran away. Firstly, I saw the burnt car, and then I saw the direct hit, the roof burning, everything inside burning. To be honest, I made my way through the rescuers to get to the child. I understand everything. But you know, a mother would jump and pull her child out of the fire."

24. AMBULANCE, MAN WALKING

25. MEDICS WALKING

26. RESCUERS CLIMBING DOWN LADDER

27. VARIOUS OF CAR BURNING

28. RESCUERS CLIMBING LADDER, BUILDING OF KINDERGARTEN BURNING