Photos show displaced Syrian families returning to damaged homes after seven years

AL-ARISHA, Syria (AP) — After seven years of displacement, around 450 Kurdish and Arab families left the al-Talayi camp in the Syrian city of Hassakeh on Tuesday to return to Syria’s Ras al-Ayn countryside.

Families arrived in the town of Al-Arisha with belongings piled onto trucks to find damaged and destroyed homes and limited basic services.

The families were displaced by a Turkish military offensive alongside Turkish-backed Syrian factions in October 2019. Their return follows arrangements between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, though damaged infrastructure and unresolved property issues remain obstacles for many.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A woman holds a young child amid household belongings and destroyed buildings after returning to Al-Arisha, in Syria's Ras al-Ayn countryside, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, seven years after a Turkish military offensive alongside allied Syrian factions forced residents to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A truck carrying returning residents and their belongings passes destroyed buildings in Al-Arisha, in Syria's Ras al-Ayn countryside, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, seven years after a Turkish military offensive alongside allied Syrian factions forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A woman holds a young child as other children carry belongings inside their damaged home after returning to Al-Arisha, in Syria's Ras al-Ayn countryside, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, seven years after a Turkish military offensive alongside allied Syrian factions forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Returning residents unload belongings from a truck amid damaged buildings in Al-Arisha, in Syria's Ras al-Ayn countryside, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, seven years after a Turkish military offensive backed by allied Syrian factions forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Trucks carrying returning residents and their belongings pass destroyed buildings in Al-Arisha, in Syria's Ras al-Ayn countryside, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, seven years after a Turkish military offensive alongside allied Syrian factions forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Women carry young children between trucks loaded with belongings as displaced families prepare to leave al-Talayi camp in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Around 450 families are returning to the Ras al-Ayn countryside, seven years after a Turkish military offensive forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Trucks packed with belongings line the roads at al-Talayi camp as displaced families get ready to return to the Ras al-Ayn countryside, in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Around 450 families are making the journey after seven years of displacement following a Turkish military offensive in 2019. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

A young child looks through a truck's windshield as displaced families prepare to leave al-Talayi camp in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Around 450 families are returning to the Ras al-Ayn countryside, seven years after a Turkish military offensive forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Internal security forces guard displaced families returning to the Ras al-Ayn countryside after seven years of displacement during a stop en route from Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Trucks packed with belongings line the roads at al-Talayi camp as displaced families get ready to return to the Ras al-Ayn countryside, in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Around 450 families are making the journey after seven years of displacement following a Turkish military offensive in 2019. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

Children gather around a motorcycle as displaced families prepare to leave al-Talayi camp in Hassakeh, Syria, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Around 450 families are returning to the Ras al-Ayn countryside, seven years after a Turkish military offensive forced them to flee. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine received no early warning from its partners about five Russian ballistic missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in the capital of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as tensions rise between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy did not specify which partners he was talking about. He characterized the barrage as “particularly vile” and emphasized that receiving intelligence from partners about such attacks “helps save lives" and is "one of the most critical issues.”

"This is precisely what helps prevent people from being killed — when there is an early warning about ballistic missiles,” he wrote in a post on X.

At the White House, Trump told reporters that the U.S. has not stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, saying that America continues to do so in hopes of bringing an end to the war.

Zelenskyy’s remarks come days after Trump unleashed biting criticism of him, including comments that it was time for a new president in Ukraine and that Zelenskyy has not done enough to end the war. The criticism marks perhaps the lowest point in their relationship since the disastrous Oval Office meeting in February 2025.

Kyiv continues to rely heavily on Washington for military assistance, including U.S.-made Patriot missile-defense systems and intelligence.

The U.S. has the capability to immediately spot Russian ballistic missile launches, and American officials have in the past notified Ukraine to allow it to issue missile warnings to the public and to use air defenses against incoming missiles.

Asked whether Ukraine received an explanation for the lack of intelligence ahead of the overnight missile strikes, a senior Ukrainian official said it was described as a “failure,” suggesting it was the result of circumstances such as weather conditions rather than a deliberate decision. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give an official statement on the matter.

Russia's war in Ukraine has not seen major shifts on the ground since last year, but Ukraine is struggling to fend off Moscow's intensified aerial attacks that include speedy ballistic missiles and high-flying jet-powered drones.

Downing the missiles has been a challenge because of a shortage of Patriot missiles caused by the U.S.-led war in Iran. Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles take just a few minutes to reach targets in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 100 weapons since Monday evening. A residential building in the northeastern city of Kharkiv was destroyed, killing four people despite an all-night rescue operation, he said.

Russia has increasingly used attacks on civilian infrastructure such as energy facilities to deny Ukrainians power, heat and running water during the 4½-year war, hoping to wear down public support for Ukraine’s response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Trump has blamed Ukraine's earlier strikes on Russian oil refineries for record U.S. diesel prices — rather than the war in Iran — and struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to import diesel from Russia in an attempt to bring fuel prices down ahead of U.S. midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Trump claimed Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on an “energy ceasefire” in which both parties would refrain from striking each other's energy infrastructure. Russia has not confirmed the existence of such a deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said only that “contacts on this matter continue.”

Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Ukraine had not struck Russian oil refineries or other energy sites in the two days since Trump announced the purported deal. He criticized Moscow for what he said were Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and infrastructure in the time since Trump's announcement.

“These are absolutely clear signals that they have no intention of refraining from strikes on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

The claim that Ukraine has halted its strikes on energy sites could not be independently verified, but neither Russian officials nor media have reported Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries since the energy truce was announced.

Russian strikes across Ukraine caused injuries and deaths overnight Monday and into Tuesday. In addition to the four deaths in the apartment building in Kharkiv, 41 people were wounded in the city in one evening alone, Zelenskyy said.

A woman was wounded in a Russian strike on a private home in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, the Kyiv city military administration said. A Russian drone hit a residential building in the village of Murovane, near the western city of Lviv, during a morning attack Tuesday, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said.

One person was killed in the Fastiv district of the Kyiv region, and at least two others were hurt in a Russian attack on the area, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration.

A Russian drone struck an educational institution in the center of Rivne in northwest Ukraine, wounding 14 people, according to Oleksandr Koval, head of the Rivne regional military administration.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that its forces launched strikes "against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, logistics centers, railway and port infrastructure, as well as vessels involved in delivering military cargo to Ukraine.”

The ministry also said a bulk carrier headed to the port of Mykolaiv with military cargo on board was hit in the estuary of the Bug River along the Black Sea.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said its air defenses overnight shot down 604 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Sea of Azov.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 417 drones targeted the Moscow region. Most were downed far away, while 65 were intercepted as they approached the Russian capital.

A school, two private houses and a car were damaged in the attack in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha said.

Spike reported from Budapest, Hungary.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Rescuers evacuate an injured civilian after a residential building was hit following a Russian air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Rescuers evacuate an injured civilian after a residential building was hit following a Russian air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

A firefighter puts out a fire following a Russian air attack at a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)