Morning opening: 24 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
Jakub Krupa
At least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations.
“The Russians practically demolished an entire section of the building with their missile,” president Zelenskyy said after visiting the site in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said it was “one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.”
Zelenskyy added:
“A Russia like this can never be normalised – a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished. Pressure is needed. It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further.”
Separately, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly exchanged 205 prisoners of war each, which Zelenskyy said was the first part of a broader swap of 1,000 for 1,000.
It’s Friday, 15 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Australia through to Eurovision’s final after second semi-final night
In other news, let’s catch up with the last night’s second semi-final of the Eurovision song contest, which saw Australia (checks notes; looks sceptically at the map of Europe) through to the grand final on Saturday.
The Guardian’s Eilish Gilligan said that heading into the competition as an early favourite behind Eurovision heavy-hitters Denmark and Finland, Australia’s 2026 Eurovision hopeful Delta Goodrem delivered a note-perfect rendition of her power-ballad entry, Eclipse.
Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Romania, Ukraine and Norway also qualified for the big night on Saturday, with the UK, Italy, Germany and France guaranteed a spot as the “Big Four,” alongside the host, Austria.
For our selective review of the “biggest bangers” from this year’s edition, check this story, but inexcusably it does not include the biggest banger of all from Moldova.
Finland and Latvia see overnight alerts over potential incursions by stray drones
Finland and Latvia were both forced to step up their air defences last night after early alerts about potential drone incursions into their territory, but no incursions were eventually reported.
The Latvian army issued an alert after midnight local time, with Nato Baltic air policing mission fighters scrambled to respond to the incident – just hours after the country’s government effectively collapsed over the previous incursion.
It later said that the risk “passed” without incidents, adding that the problem of stray incursions will continue for as long as Russia persists with its aggression on Ukraine.
Over in Finland, no incursion was eventually reported after an alert was issued for Helsinki and Porvoom, prompting a brief closure of the Helsinki airport.
But the country’s prime minister, Petteri Orpo, stressed at this morning’s press conference that even the mere prospect of a stray Ukrainian drone crossing into Finland was unacceptable and this was relayed to the authorities in Kyiv.
The country’s president, Alexander Stubb, later stressed that “there is no direct military threat against Finland.” “I thank the Finnish authorities for their swift reaction to the drone alert this morning. Our authorities demonstrated their readiness and capacity to react,” he said.
Air force commander Timo Herranen said the army was ready to shot the drone down if needed.
Morning opening: 24 killed in Russian attack on Kyiv
Jakub Krupa
At least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations.
“The Russians practically demolished an entire section of the building with their missile,” president Zelenskyy said after visiting the site in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said it was “one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.”
Zelenskyy added:
“A Russia like this can never be normalised – a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished. Pressure is needed. It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further.”
Separately, Russia and Ukraine have reportedly exchanged 205 prisoners of war each, which Zelenskyy said was the first part of a broader swap of 1,000 for 1,000.
It’s Friday, 15 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.