Russia Launches 74 Missiles and 496 Drones at Kyiv Killing at Least 27
Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Kyiv using 74 missiles and 496 drones, killing at least 27 people and injuring 91 in the deadliest strike on the Ukrainian capital this year amid ongoing Ukraine strikes. [1] The assault damaged or destroyed around 130 buildings across Kyiv, including a half-collapsed nine-storey residential block, an ambulance station, the National Institute of Biochemistry, and a Ukrainian Red Cross humanitarian warehouse. [3]
Massive Russian Assault Hits Kyiv
Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. [1] Yuri Ihnat, the Air Force spokesperson, said the number of ballistic missiles was unusually high and the interception rate was low. [1] Ukraine reported intercepting most cruise missiles and drones but struggled with ballistic missiles due to shortages of Patriot interceptors, prompting urgent appeals for more supplies. [2] The scale and spread of destruction across the breadth of the capital had little precedent even in a war now in its fifth year. [1] City officials said that the injured included children, paramedics and drivers at an ambulance station. [1] The National Institute of Biochemistry was among many buildings damaged: its state-of-the-art biochemistry laboratory and other offices were gutted during the attack. [1] “This is a catastrophe for medical and biological science of Ukraine,” biologist Yurii Danylovych told Reuters. [1] The Ukrainian Red Cross, in a post on X, said its humanitarian warehouse in Kyiv has been destroyed in the assault and posted pictures of a shattered building interior. [1] It said 320,000 relief items had been lost, “affecting emergency response and humanitarian operations across Ukraine”. [1]
Rescue Efforts and Rising Toll
The death toll climbed to 27 after an injured person died in hospital, and 91 were injured, the head of the capital’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram. [1] Tkachenko had earlier warned that the toll was likely to rise as rescue teams worked through the night, sifting through rubble in search of trapped residents. [1] He said teams at one site in an eastern suburb on the capital’s left bank of the Dnipro River had recovered five bodies while eight residents were unaccounted for. [1] “Rescue crews will work without interruption until all the debris is cleared,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, more victims may still be found.” [1] Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a day of mourning in Kyiv for Friday. [1] He said that damage was recorded across the city of about 3 million, with some buildings heavily damaged. [1]
Zelenskiy Blames Delayed Air Defenses
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy blamed the high death toll in part on delayed delivery of promised air defense systems by allies and called for stronger European air defenses ahead of the NATO summit. [1] President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who cut short his visit to Ireland and rushed home, visited the site where a nine-storey residential building was half destroyed. [1] “If our partners had delivered on their promises in a timely manner, I think we could have saved more homes and lives today,” said Zelenskiy, who looked tired and frustrated. [1] “All we ask of our partners is simply to do what we’ve agreed on. We’re not even asking for more.” [1] Later, in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said the issue of air defences would be “one of the key outcomes” of next week’s NATO summit in Turkey, as he repeated his call for the development of European air defences. [1] “If, of course, NATO still means anything to the allies,” he said. “Europe must have its own sufficient capability to defend against all types of threats, including this one – from Russian ballistic missiles.” [1] Ukraine has struggled with shortages of Patriot missiles in recent months. [1] In an open letter to nearly 40 partner countries, Defence Minister Mykhajlo Fedorov warned that the need for air defence is acute. [2]
Russian Retaliation Claim and Ukrainian Strikes
Russia described the strikes as retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian energy facilities, including an oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod. [1] The Russian Defence Ministry, in a Telegram post, said its “massive attack” using long-range, high-precision air-, land- and sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports in Kyiv and other locations. [1] Moscow said the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia. [1] Kyiv, which has stepped up strikes in recent weeks on Russia’s domestic fuel supply, said it had hit an oil refinery overnight in the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod, where the governor reported one person killed in a strike on an industrial facility. [1] After years of enduring relentless long-range attacks from Russia, Ukraine has intensified its own strikes deep into Russian territory, mainly on energy targets. [1] That has triggered a fuel crisis in Russia, forcing the world’s third-biggest oil producer to import gasoline from as far away as India. [1] Russia has responded with a stepped-up air campaign against Ukrainian cities, last month hitting a 1,000-year-old Kyiv cathedral foundational to the Orthodox faith in both countries. [1]
Continued Attacks and Regional Toll
Additional Russian strikes on July 3 and 4 killed at least four more people and wounded others in regions including Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Kryvyi Rih. [2] Two people were killed and eight wounded in new Russian attacks against Ukraine. [2] In Sumy-region, two people were killed and one wounded when a drone hit a residence. [2] In Zelenskiy’s hometown Kryvyi Rih, seven people were wounded in a Russian rocket attack on a densely populated area. [2] In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were reported killed—including a seven-year-old girl—and nine wounded in Russian attacks. [2] Among the wounded were an 11-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. [2] In Kherson, Russian forces struck a hospital. [2] A 63-year-old doctor was killed and a nurse wounded. [2]
International Reactions and Calls for Sanctions
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow could help stop Russian attacks. [1] “Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to the strikes,” she said in a post on X. [1] “The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed.” [1] U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, describing them as part of a “deadly pattern” of strikes on populated areas. [1] Ukraine’s neighbour Poland, a NATO and EU member, briefly scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure. [1] Finland also briefly issued a temporary aviation restriction zone in the eastern Gulf of Finland, its defence forces said. [1]
What to watch next: Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators held talks in the past two days, and that he hoped to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit. [1]
