Russian strikes killed at least five people and injured ten in Ukraine on July 3, one day after the deadliest attack on Kyiv of the year. Ukrainian officials reported deaths in Sumy and Kryvyi Rih, while separate Ukrainian attacks killed people in Russian-held areas and border regions.
A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Sumy region, killing two women, an older man and a toddler. Three other people were injured, regional military administrator Oleh Hryhorov said. The residential setting accounted for four of the five deaths attributed to the latest Russian attacks.
A missile struck Kryvyi Rih, killing one person and wounding seven. Local defence official Oleksandr Vilkul said two injured women remained in hospital. Nine apartment blocks, a school, a business, shops, garages and about ten vehicles were damaged, while two residential buildings lost gas service.
The attacks followed a large overnight barrage on Kyiv whose death toll rose to at least 30. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 496 drones and 74 missiles and that it intercepted 476 drones and 48 missiles. The claims were official Ukrainian figures and did not mean debris or missed interceptions caused no damage.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned attacks on civilians and infrastructure and renewed his call for a ceasefire. The European Union’s foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would propose additional sanctions. The Kremlin, however, said pressure on Kyiv would increase.
Ukraine also launched drones toward Russia and occupied Ukrainian territory. Kremlin-appointed authorities said five people died at a market in occupied Zaporizhzhia and three in other incidents there. Officials reported deaths in Belgorod and Bryansk, along with fires at industrial sites and interruptions to water and electricity.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said 155 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian regions and annexed Crimea. Ukraine has targeted energy and industrial facilities in an attempt to reduce Russian military capacity, while Moscow says such attacks aim to frighten the public. Each side disputes the other’s choice of targets.
The July 3 toll therefore included parallel and separately sourced episodes, not one combined battlefield event. In Ukraine, the clearest documented losses were four civilians in a Sumy home and one person in Kryvyi Rih. Their deaths, immediately after the Kyiv barrage, showed the continuing reach of missiles and drones into housing and urban infrastructure away from front-line combat.
Kryvyi Rih is President Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city and an important industrial centre that has repeatedly been struck. Damage to housing, schools, shops and utility connections demonstrated how one missile could produce effects extending well beyond the immediate casualty count.
