Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 20, Injures Over 90

People look at the site of a Russian missile strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 2, 2026.

At least 20 civilians were killed and more than 90 others injured after Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone assault on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

The bombardment lasted nearly 11 hours, with repeated explosions shaking the Ukrainian capital overnight. Air raid sirens forced many residents to take shelter in subway stations as emergency crews worked through the night to rescue people trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Kyiv City Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said the attack damaged around 30 locations across the city, most of them residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly 20 apartment buildings were damaged in the strikes.

In one of the hardest-hit areas, residents were trapped inside a damaged nine-storey apartment building in the Desnianskyi district, while six floors of another residential building collapsed in the Darnytskyi district.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that more than 90 people were injured.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the bombardment as a “night of horror” for the capital.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the attack was launched in retaliation for recent long-range Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities, which Moscow claimed had disrupted fuel supplies and increased pressure on the country’s energy sector.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian forces targeted only military or military-related facilities. However, Ukrainian authorities said civilian neighbourhoods suffered extensive damage.

The latest assault came amid intensified Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructure. Ukrainian officials say the campaign is aimed at weakening Russia’s war effort and increasing pressure on President Vladimir Putin to engage in peace negotiations.

Despite diplomatic efforts, including initiatives backed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, no major breakthrough has been achieved to end the war.

According to the United Nations, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, a Russian guided bomb struck the central Dnipropetrovsk region, killing a seven-year-old girl and injuring four members of her family, including an 11-year-old girl, regional authorities said.