Russia's massive strike on Kyiv kills 13, injures dozens

A Russian missile and drone barrage killed at least 13 people in Kyiv and injured 86 more, a strike that hit homes, civilian infrastructure and neighborhoods across the capital while residents sheltered in metro stations. The attack, which came after Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending “massive” Russian strike, showed how Moscow is using saturation attacks to strain Ukraine’s air defenses and keep the capital under pressure.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 long-range drones in the assault, one of the heaviest attacks on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 48 missiles and 476 drones, but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones still struck 33 locations, underlining the limits of interception when Russia combines missiles with large drone waves.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage was reported in all districts of the city, and rescue crews kept searching through rubble as air raid warnings echoed for hours. Among the dead was a 6-year-old boy. At least 86 people were injured, including children, deepening the toll on a city that has repeatedly absorbed some of the war’s most intense strikes.

Kyiv City Hall declared July 3 a Day of Mourning for the victims of what officials described as the most massive attack on the Ukrainian capital. The scale of the damage, and the fact that the strike hit so many separate locations, suggests Russia is trying not only to inflict casualties but also to test how long Ukraine can keep civilian life functioning under near-continuous bombardment.

The attack also rippled beyond Ukraine’s borders. Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure to secure its airspace, a reminder that each major Russian strike forces neighboring NATO states to watch their own defenses as well as Ukraine’s. With Kyiv still under repeated attack, the burden on Western military aid, air-defense stocks and civilian resilience is only growing heavier.