Deadly Russian Missile and Drone Barrage Hits Kyiv, Killing 13
Last update: July 2, 2026
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Kyiv woke to terror on Thursday morning as Russian missiles and drones ripped through apartment blocks, just hours after Zelensky warned a “massive attack” was coming.
Russian missile and drone strike tore through apartment buildings in Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, cbinews.tv reports.
The assault came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was gearing up for a “massive attack”.
It’s the latest in a grim pattern. Russia has been hammering Ukrainian cities with waves of missiles and drones for more than four years now, in what has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Journalists in central and eastern Kyiv said they heard more than a dozen explosions. People grabbed their children and pets and rushed to shelter in metro stations. By morning, locals were standing on piles of rubble where their homes used to be, with smoke hanging heavy over the Kyiv skyline.
The blasts started late Wednesday and rolled into the early hours of Thursday as Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas in the city centre.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed at least 13 people were killed, with 86 wounded. Kyiv is now urging its allies to send more air defence support.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 496 drones and 74 missiles, including ballistic projectiles that are tough to intercept. They managed to shoot down 48 of the missiles and 476 drones.
The attack hit just hours after Zelensky cut short a trip to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike.
During the barrage, locals crammed into underground metro stations or hunkered down in basements and corridors for protection.
Ukraine has also ramped up its own long-range drone strikes inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and military sites. Russian officials say border regions have been hit repeatedly, and Moscow claims its air defences have intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones in recent days.
Russia’s defence ministry confirmed on Thursday that it had launched a “massive strike” on Kyiv, calling it retaliation for Ukraine’s counter-attacks.
The war’s toll is staggering. A study published Wednesday by US think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, estimates more than two million military casualties so far, with Russian forces taking the heaviest losses.
So far, US efforts to broker an end to the conflict have failed.
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