Two people were killed and at least 28 injured when Russia attacked Kyiv with hundreds of drones and 18 missiles, Ukrainian authorities said. The barrage kept the capital under alert until about 7 a.m. and followed another record-scale assault the previous night.
Residents heard repeated explosions for more than an hour as drones, ballistic missiles and air-defence fire crossed the city. Journalists in Kyiv reported the distinctive buzzing of Shahed-type drones over the central Pechersk neighbourhood and blast waves strong enough to trigger car alarms. Authorities said debris and strikes caused fires in apartment buildings, garages, warehouses and other properties across eight districts.
The Interior Ministry identified the two people killed as a 68-year-old woman and a 22-year-old police officer. At least ten of the injured were admitted to hospital, and two children were among those hurt. Some casualties suffered shrapnel wounds.
In the Podilskyi district, a primary healthcare centre was almost completely destroyed, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The studio of Kanal 5 television was also damaged; no staff were hurt, but damaged equipment briefly disrupted broadcasting. Fires were reported at buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi and Darnytskyi districts, as well as at petrol stations and garages.
Ukraine's air force gave a detailed breakdown of the incoming weapons. It said Russia launched 397 drones, nearly 200 of them Shahed-type attack craft and the remainder largely decoys intended to burden air defences. The barrage also included eight Iskander-M ballistic missiles, six Kh-101 cruise missiles and four S-300 missiles. Ukrainian forces said they downed 164 Shaheds, every Iskander-M and all six Kh-101 missiles. A further 204 aerial targets disappeared from radar or were disrupted electronically, according to the military. These operational figures could not be independently verified from the supplied reports.
The attack extended beyond Kyiv. Two people in Kherson were hospitalised with blast and shrapnel injuries after drone strikes during the national assault. Four others had been injured by artillery there late on July 9. Ukrainian officials generally withhold details about possible military targets, making the complete pattern of damage difficult to assess.
The escalation came after the United Nations recorded Ukraine's highest monthly civilian casualty total in three years: 232 killed and 1,343 injured during June. President Volodymyr Zelensky sought more funding from partners for interceptor-drone production and additional air-defence systems.
Diplomatic prospects appeared remote. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said diplomacy had been exhausted, and US President Donald Trump publicly expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. With mass attacks occurring on consecutive nights, Kyiv's immediate focus returned to sheltering civilians and obtaining the systems needed to counter an expanding volume of long-range weapons.
