Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing at least

Russia struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones on Thursday 2 July, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 80 others in one of the heaviest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in months, city officials said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that 13 people were confirmed dead and at least 86 injured, with damage recorded at more than 30 locations across the city. Tymur Tkachenko, chief of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said at least two children were among the injured. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha warned on X that the death toll would likely rise as rescue teams continued their work.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia attacked the country with 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight. Air defence units downed or neutralised 48 missiles and 476 drones, but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones hit 33 locations.

Sirens began sounding around 8 p.m. local time and continued well into the morning, with the attack lasting 11 hours, according to city officials. Residents packed into metro stations on Wednesday evening, preparing for a long night of strikes.

Buildings collapsed, fires burning across districts

The large-scale attack with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city.

In the Darnytskyi district, six levels of a nine-storey building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-storey residential building was damaged, Klitschko said. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, said on X that the most serious damage was in the Podilskyi district, where a Russian strike collapsed a nine-storey residential building, and that people may still be trapped under the rubble.

A paramedic in extremely critical condition was among the injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukraine's Emergency Service said a hotel and two five-storey residential buildings were damaged in the area. In the Holosiivskyi district, fire broke out on the roof of a 16-storey building, according to the Emergency Service.

Klitschko said the injured included paramedics and drivers at an ambulance station, and that some people were still trapped inside damaged residential buildings.

Zelensky warned of strike from Dublin

Zelensky had earlier warned of a possible overnight attack and said he was cutting short his visit to Dublin for the start of Ireland's six-month term in the rotating presidency of the European Union.

During a joint press conference in Dublin with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday, Zelensky said: "Today, we have information about another massive Russian strike; we have relevant intelligence data." He urged residents to heed air-raid alerts and shelter immediately.

Zelensky said Russia's leadership was "completely refusing to end the war," adding that through "all possible official and unofficial channels — including through people close to him — we have conveyed that the war can and must be ended," but that Putin "sees only further aggression against Ukraine and against other neighbours and Europe as a whole."

Russia says it targeted military sites; Ukraine says civilians bore the cost

Russia's Ministry of Defence said its military launched a "massive strike using high-precision, long-range weapons," including drones, targeting military and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions. The ministry said the strike was retaliation for Ukraine's attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure, without elaborating.

Ukraine alleged civilian infrastructure and residential buildings had been hit. Tkachenko said Russia had been "very deliberately striking residential buildings," adding: "This night has once again shown their terrorist nature."

Sybiha called on Ukraine's allies to strengthen the country's air defences, urging partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defence systems and missiles after what he described as a "night of horror" in Kyiv. He rejected any attempts to justify the Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine's long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations charter.

Poland scrambles jets; Finland restricts airspace

Neighbouring Poland, a NATO and European Union member, briefly scrambled fighter jets on Thursday as a preventive measure before calling those back and saying no airspace violation was recorded. Finland also briefly issued a temporary aviation restriction zone in the eastern Gulf of Finland before lifting it, its defence forces said on X.

Strikes follow Ukraine's intensified campaign inside Russia

Russia's latest attack came as Kyiv had stepped up long-range drone strikes inside Russia, targeting oil refineries, military facilities and major cities including Moscow and St Petersburg. Overnight Thursday, Ukraine's military said it struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries in Kstovo, hundreds of miles east of Moscow, as well as a railway bridge over the Donets River and a Russian command post in Kharkiv.

Ukraine has recently intensified strikes deeper into Russian territory, triggering a widespread fuel crisis in the world's third-biggest oil producer and forcing it to import gasoline from as far away as India.

More than four years on from Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's cities face near-nightly attacks from Moscow's drones and missiles.

This is a developing story.