Russia's overnight Kyiv assault kills 11 as missiles hit homes across city

Kyiv,UPDATED: Jul 2, 2026 11:30 IST

Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens as loud explosions shook the Ukrainian capital for hours. In a later update, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 11 people had been killed, 54 injured, including two children, and 20 residential buildings damaged.

The strikes hit 30 locations across the city, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. Many residents took shelter in metro stations after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials issued warnings. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described it as a "night of horror" and urged Ukraine's allies to speed up decisions on supplying air defence systems and missiles, as Russia has stepped up attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters because of the ongoing "furious enemy attack". In the Shevchenkivskyi district, he said a paramedic in extremely critical condition was among the injured. Ukraine's Emergency Service said a hotel and two five-storey residential buildings were damaged there. In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-storey residential building, while Tkachenko said a residential building there was partially destroyed. In the Holosiivskyi district, the Emergency Service reported a fire on the roof of a 16-storey building. In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fires broke out in two private homes, and the mayor said debris trapped people in one of them.

In the Darnytskyi district, Klitschko said six floors of a nine-storey building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-storey residential building was damaged. The Emergency Service said a 16-storey building and private homes were also damaged there. Tkachenko said fires also broke out near residential buildings at two locations in the Pecherskyi district and near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district. He added that damage was also being recorded in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts. The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said five districts in the wider region were damaged and three people were injured in Bucha district.

Writing on X, Sybiha said the death toll could rise as rescue teams continued their work. He rejected attempts to justify the Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine's long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter while Russia remained the aggressor. Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv even as Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia. The overnight assault left widespread damage across Kyiv, with rescue operations still under way and officials warning that the toll may rise.

With PTI Inputs

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