Kyiv observed a Day of Mourning on August 21 for the victims of a massive Russian attack. After a second wave of strikes that morning, the death toll rose to 18, and rescuers finished clearing rubble in the Solomianskyi district.
On Friday, August 21, 2026, Kyiv observed a Day of Mourning for those killed in a massive Russian attack that began overnight on August 20 and continued intermittently for more than a day. On the morning of August 21, a second wave of strikes hit the city, claiming further lives and, for the first time in several months, hitting a piece of critical infrastructure. The overall death toll rose to 18. Volunteers Support Ukraine joins in mourning the residents of Kyiv who were killed.
The first wave of the attack overnight on August 20 killed at least 16 people and wounded 42. The follow-up strike on the morning of August 21 added further deaths, bringing the overall toll to 18. According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, this time the enemy deliberately targeted a piece of critical infrastructure — for the first time in several months — raising the risk of hot water outages in two districts of the city.
Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Kyiv City Administration declared August 21 an official Day of Mourning. "On this day it is hard to find words that could describe the pain of loss," the announcement read. Flags on municipal buildings across the city were lowered to half-mast, and all entertainment events in Kyiv were cancelled for the day.
In the Solomianskyi district, where the strike tore off the top floors of a nine-story residential building, emergency crews worked through the night. According to the State Emergency Service, rescuers dismantled five floor slabs and cleared 62 cubic meters of destroyed building material before wrapping up the operation. Twelve people had earlier been pulled alive from the rubble of the same building.
NGO Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever way and to whatever extent its available resources allow — from urgent humanitarian aid to support for families who have lost their homes or loved ones in attacks like this one.
