Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least 8 people and injuring 82, including 10 children.
More than 100 buildings were damaged in Ukraine’s capital; a nine-storey residential block partially collapsed.
President Zelenskyy condemned the strikes as "demonstrative killings" and urged Western allies to strengthen defence support.
At least eight people, including a six-year-old boy, were killed and more than 80 injured after a wave of Russian missiles and drones struck Ukraine’s capital Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
Among the wounded were ten children, the youngest just five months old, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. One nine-storey residential building partially collapsed under the impact of the strikes. Rescue workers remained at the site into Thursday, combing the rubble in search of survivors.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 309 Shahed and decoy drones and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles in the assault. Ukrainian air defences reportedly intercepted 288 drones and three missiles, but five missiles and 21 drones hit their targets.
The attack caused extensive damage across the city, with Tkachenko confirming that at least 27 locations in Kyiv were struck. The worst-hit areas were in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts. Over 100 structures, including homes, schools, hospitals, kindergartens and university buildings, were damaged in the bombardment.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strikes, calling them “new demonstrative killings” and a brutal response to Ukraine’s ongoing diplomatic efforts. “Today, the world once again saw Russia’s answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe,” he wrote on Telegram. “That is why peace without strength is impossible.”
As reported by the Associated Press, Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s international partners to uphold their defence pledges and ramp up pressure on Moscow to return to genuine negotiations.
According to AP, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from a damaged building, while the force of the blast left clothing hanging from tree branches in nearby streets.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, claimed on Thursday to have downed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. One of those drones reportedly sparked a fire at an industrial site in the Penza region, although no casualties were reported. In Volgograd, drone debris disrupted train services after landing on railway infrastructure, the state-run Russian Railways said.
Moscow also declared that its forces had taken full control of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region. The town, perched on a hilltop, has been bitterly contested for nearly 18 months and is seen as a gateway to Ukraine’s eastern defence line.
However, the claim was swiftly rejected by Ukrainian military spokesperson Victor Trehubov, who told the Associated Press that it was “just a fabrication” and that there had been no significant change on the ground.
A Ukrainian General Staff update reported seven clashes in Chasiv Yar in the past 24 hours. A map released with the report suggested most of the town was under Russian control. The open-source military map DeepState showed southern and western parts of the town remained grey zones—areas not firmly held by either side.
The strikes also hit the Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions, with Kyiv identified as the main target.
In a related development, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new deadline to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that unless progress is made by 8 August in peace talks, Washington will impose fresh sanctions and tariffs. Western leaders have long accused Moscow of stalling diplomacy in order to seize more territory.
At the site of one of the collapsed buildings, the human toll of the assault was still sinking in. Yana Zhabborova, 35, a resident of the block, said she awoke to thunderous explosions that blew out her doors and windows. “It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left,” she said. Zhabborova, who lives with her five-month-old baby and five-year-old child, was among the many left displaced.
(With inputs from AP)
