Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv overnight, destroying residential buildings and killing more than a dozen civilians in strikes Moscow's military called retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on its own civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched nearly 500 drones and more than 70 missiles toward the country in a "massive combined strike," simultaneously targeting the capital from different directions. While most of the missiles and drones were intercepted, a total of 33 projectiles made impact.
Casualties and damage
As of midday Ukraine time Thursday, 17 people were confirmed dead and at least 86 were injured, including two children, according to Ukrainian emergency services. Search and rescue operations continued, with more people feared to be buried under the rubble.
Ukrainian authorities said 110 emergency response teams were deployed to 59 locations across the city to address the aftermath of the attack. The strikes damaged more than 20 sites across the city, "most of them ordinary residential buildings," as well as an ambulance station, a research institute, a hotel and other businesses, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"It was a terrible night for Kyiv," said the city's mayor Vitaliy Klitschko. The "most significant destruction" was to a residential building in Darnytskyi, to the southeast of the capital, part of which "was literally blown away," Klitschko said. Rescuers are continuing to search for people under the rubble, among them a 15-year-old girl and her family, he added.
Russian statement and Ukrainian response
Russia's defense ministry said its military launched a "massive strike using high-precision, long-range weapons," including drones, in response to Ukraine's "attacks on civilian infrastructure within Russian territory." Ukraine has launched an unprecedented drone campaign against Russia in the past month, targeting energy infrastructure in long-range attacks that Zelensky has framed as a key strategy to force Moscow to end the war.
Overnight Thursday, Ukraine's military said it struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries in Kstovo, hundreds of miles to the east of Moscow. It also said it struck a railway bridge over the Donets River which it says Russia uses for military activities, and a Russian command and observation post in Kharkiv. The Russian defense ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 327 drones launched from Ukraine.
Russia said its latest strikes targeted military and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions — but Ukraine said most of the damage was to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
Speaking to reporters during his daily press call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would "continue to increase pressure on the Kyiv regime in order to achieve its objectives."
Civilian impact and warnings
Residents packed into metro stations Wednesday evening, preparing for a long night of strikes. Sirens began sounding around 8 p.m. local time and continued well into the morning, with the attack lasting 11 hours, according to city officials. The relief did not last long – another air raid alarm was announced in Kyiv just before noon on Thursday.
"We demand strong international responses. Not only words of condemnation but concrete action to stop Russian terror," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said, warning that the death toll would likely rise.
The strikes were presaged by a request from Zelensky Wednesday for residents to be "especially careful" and to heed air-raid sirens, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been "preparing a massive strike against Ukraine for some time."
Reviewed by Admin
on
July 02, 2026
Rating:
