13 killed in massive Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv as Zelenskyy warns of escalated attacks
Russian forces launched one of the heaviest overnight bombardments on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 90 others, Kyiv authorities said Thursday.
The attack, which involved a mix of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as attack drones, struck at least five districts across the greater Kyiv region. The barrage followed a warning from Ukraine's air force that ballistic missiles were heading toward the city, and came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy abruptly ended a diplomatic trip to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence that Moscow was preparing a massive strike.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the assault as the most significant attack on the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion, and declared July 3 a day of mourning for the victims.
"Tomorrow, July 3, has been declared a Day of Mourning in Kyiv, in memory of the victims of the enemy's most massive attack on the capital," he wrote in a post on Telegram.
According to Ukraine's air force, Russia deployed a total of 570 aerial attack assets overnight, including 496 drones, 24 Iskander ballistic missiles, and four Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. Officials said damage was reported at over 20 sites across Kyiv, with residential buildings and civilian infrastructure among the targets hit.
In response to the assault, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on Thursday that she would propose fresh sanctions targeting entities supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. "The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed," she wrote on social media platform X.
The overnight barrage underscores a renewed pattern of escalation as the war grinds into its fourth year. Ukraine has also stepped up its own long-range drone strikes inside Russian territory in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and military installations. Russian officials have reported repeated attacks on border regions, and Moscow claims its air defenses have intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones in recent days.
The broader human toll of Russia's invasion was highlighted in a study published Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, which estimated that more than two million military casualties have occurred on both sides, with Russian forces bearing the majority of the losses. The conflict, now the deadliest in Europe since World War II, continues to exact a heavy price on civilians as well.
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.