Russia fired missiles at Kyiv on June 18, triggering air raid alerts across the Ukrainian capital and sending residents scrambling for shelter. The timing was not subtle: the strikes landed just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of a G7 meeting focused on potential peace negotiations.
What happened in Kyiv
Local authorities in Kyiv issued shelter advisories as missile warnings blared across the city. This latest barrage mirrors previous large-scale Russian aerial attacks carried out in May and December 2025, both of which involved mass barrages of missiles and drones aimed at Ukrainian cities.
Casualty figures and damage assessments from the June 18 attack have not yet been publicly confirmed.
The diplomatic backdrop
