Russia launches one of war’s largest missile attacks on Kyiv

Russia struck Kyiv again overnight with 41 missiles and 125 attack drones, deepening a pattern of repeated mass attacks on the capital that has already hit the city on July 1, 5, 7, 11 and 13. The barrage began around 1:30 a.m. local time and pushed Ukrainian air defenses to absorb one of the heaviest salvos of the war against Kyiv.

Kyiv’s military said it shot down 18 of the 41 missiles. Even so, officials reported destruction and fires across five districts of the capital, with emergency crews also responding in Odesa Oblast as the wider attack spread beyond Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said one person was killed and 16 people were wounded in Kyiv and the surrounding region. He said nearly 600 rescue workers were involved in recovery efforts at three locations, a sign of how much damage the overnight strike caused despite the interceptions.

The scale of the assault tested claims that Ukraine’s air defenses were holding the capital under control. Zelenskyy used the aftermath to press partners for more interceptors, saying Russia had fired around 1,450 attack drones, more than 1,640 guided aerial bombs and 99 missiles of various types across Ukraine over the course of the week.

The latest strike fits a rhythm that has become more visible in recent weeks: repeated waves of missiles and drones aimed at Kyiv rather than isolated one-off attacks. That cadence has kept rescue services on alert, damaged multiple districts of the capital, and forced officials to respond to both the immediate casualties and the broader strain on air-defense stockpiles.

Russian attacks have intensified across Ukraine even as the capital remains a central target. The combination of missiles and drones in the latest barrage underscored how Moscow is using layered strikes to overwhelm defenses, inflict civilian damage and maintain pressure on Kyiv after a series of earlier hits in the first half of July.