27 killed, over 100 injured in Russian missile, drone strike on Kyiv

At least 27 people were killed and more than 100 others injured after Russia launched one of its deadliest overnight missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday (July 2).

According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, the death toll has risen to 27, while Ukraine's National Police said at least 113 people were injured.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that Kyiv was the primary target of the large-scale assault.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the attack as "massive and devastating" and urged residents to remain in shelters as emergency crews continued rescue operations across the city.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said rescuers were working around the clock to free people trapped beneath the rubble and provide emergency assistance.

"More than 20 locations across Kyiv have been damaged, most of them residential buildings. An ambulance station, a research institute, a hotel and several commercial facilities were also hit," Zelenskyy said.

He added that Russia launched more than 70 ballistic missiles and nearly 500 drones during the overnight assault, making it one of the largest attacks on the Ukrainian capital this year.

According to the global media reports, damage was reported across every district of Kyiv, with the Darnytskyi district suffering the heaviest destruction. Part of a nine-storey residential building collapsed, trapping several residents under the debris. Rescue teams were continuing efforts to save a 15-year-old girl and her family believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. Fires also broke out on residential buildings and a hotel in the Holosiivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts.

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia used an unusually high number of ballistic missiles in the attack, adding that a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles reduced its ability to intercept incoming projectiles.

Zelenskyy said the strike came shortly after Ukrainian forces reportedly carried out successful attacks on a major oil refinery in Russia's Ufa region, a military complex in Penza, and a satellite communications centre in the Moscow region.

Moscow, however, said the operation targeted Ukrainian military facilities, energy infrastructure and airports, describing it as retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russian territory.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres denounced the strike as part of a "deadly pattern" of attacks on densely populated areas, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the European Union would soon propose fresh sanctions against those supporting Russia's military-industrial complex.

Security analysts described the assault as Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv so far in 2026, warning that the escalating exchange of long-range strikes by both sides signals a new and more dangerous phase of the war.

Source: ABC News, The Times of India