Not less than two lifeless and 11 injured as Ukraine’s forces defend towards ballistic missiles, drones focusing on capital metropolis.
Revealed On 2 Jul 2026
Kyiv got here beneath a ballistic missile and drone assault in a single day, with no less than two folks killed and 11 injured after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending “huge” assault by Russia.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging platform, mentioned the roof of a lodge was on fireplace early on Thursday morning.
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Footage posted on-line confirmed a hearth burning uncontrolled on the high of the constructing on the central Shevchenko Boulevard.
“Kyiv is beneath assault from ballistic missiles and UAVs,” Klitschko wrote, utilizing the acronym for unmanned aerial automobiles, or drones.
Klitschko later mentioned that 11 folks had been injured, with others trapped in a broken nine-storey residential constructing, and the roof of one other high-rise condo constructing on fireplace.
The AFP information company later mentioned two folks had been killed within the assaults, in accordance with metropolis authorities.
Footage shared on unofficial Telegram channels confirmed metropolis residents crowding into underground stations to shelter from the Russian strikes.
Journalists with AFP within the central and jap districts of Kyiv reported listening to greater than a dozen explosions as Ukraine’s Air Drive warned that ballistic missiles had been approaching the town.
Within the streets, residents had been seen making their solution to shelters, carrying sleeping mats beneath their arms, in accordance with AFP.
Zelenskyy points warning earlier than Russian assault
The strikes on Kyiv got here simply hours after Zelenskyy warned of an imminent “huge Russian strike” and urged Ukrainians to take shelter.
“At this time, we now have details about one other huge Russian strike; we now have related intelligence knowledge,” Zelenskyy mentioned throughout a joint information convention in Dublin with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday.
In a publish on X, Zelenskyy mentioned: “Instantly after this dialog, I’m returning to Ukraine”.
He known as on residents to be “particularly cautious” and “keep protected and defend your households and youngsters” by heeding air raid alerts.
“We all know that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been getting ready a large strike towards Ukraine for a while. That’s precisely the risk we face tonight,” he added.
Zelenskyy additionally accused Russia of “utterly refusing to finish the battle” it launched in February 2022, regardless of Ukrainian efforts by way of “all doable official and unofficial channels” to convey readiness for “conferences and significant negotiations”.
Putin “sees solely additional aggression towards Ukraine and towards different neighbours and Europe as a complete”, Zelenskyy mentioned.
