UNIPA News(KYIV) 03 July-At least 21 civilians were killed and more than 90 others injured after Russia launched a large-scale overnight drone and missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday, describing it as one of the deadliest assaults on the capital in recent months.
According to Ukraine’s Emergency Service, the attack lasted around 11 hours and caused widespread destruction across the city. More than 30 locations were damaged, including approximately 20 residential buildings. Emergency teams continued search and rescue operations throughout the day as they searched for survivors beneath collapsed structures.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 496 drones and 74 missiles during the assault. More than 50,000 residents sought shelter in Kyiv’s metro stations after air raid alerts were issued.
In the Darnytskyi district, most of a nine-story residential building collapsed, while residents were trapped inside a damaged apartment block in the Desnianskyi district. Authorities said several other residential areas also sustained significant damage.
In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, a separate Russian strike killed a seven-year-old girl and injured four members of the same family, including an 11-year-old child, according to regional officials.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the attack was carried out in retaliation for Ukraine’s recent long-range strikes on Russian territory, particularly targeting oil refineries and energy infrastructure. Moscow said the operation targeted military-related facilities, including weapons production sites, energy infrastructure, and military airfields.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities and military logistics in recent months, aiming to disrupt fuel supplies and weaken Russia’s military operations. Ukrainian officials say the campaign is intended to increase pressure on Moscow and encourage negotiations.
Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Nizhny Novgorod region overnight, causing a fire. It also reported an attack on a railway bridge in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that was being used to transport Russian troops and military equipment.
Ukrainian officials again urged international partners to strengthen the country’s air defense capabilities, emphasizing the need for additional Patriot missile defense systems to counter ballistic missile attacks.
The war, now in its fifth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, continues without a diplomatic breakthrough despite repeated international efforts to secure a ceasefire.
