Rescuers extinguish a fire and work in a damaged residential building following missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 2, 2026. Photo: AFP
Russian missile and drone strikes tore open apartment buildings in Kyiv early on Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was preparing a “massive attack”.
Russia has routinely launched waves of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, during its more than four-year invasion, which has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
AFP journalists in central and eastern Kyiv heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents — some with children and pets — rushing to shelter in metro stations.
In the morning, locals stood on the rubble of destroyed apartment blocks, ripped open by the barrage, as smoke poured over the Kyiv skyline.
