By RFE/RL staff - Jul 02, 2026, 9:00 AM CDT
Russia fired more than 70 missiles and nearly 500 drones at Kyiv overnight, killing at least 17 people in one of the war's biggest single assaults.
Moscow says the strike was retaliation for Ukraine's weeks-long drone campaign against Russian oil refineries, which has triggered fuel shortages nationwide.
Zelenskyy cut short a trip to Ireland after receiving advance warning of the attack; Ukraine responded overnight with more than 330 drones targeting the Moscow and Leningrad regions.
Russia pummeled the Ukrainian capital in one of its largest drone-and-missile assaults this year, killing at least 17 people, highlighting Moscow's stubborn efforts to pound Kyiv into submission.The July 2 attack came amid weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes that have targeted Russian oil refineries, a campaign that caused fuel shortages nationwide and stoked discontent among Russians disconnected the Ukraine war, now in its fifth year.Russia's military said the assault was in response to “terrorist attacks” against Russian “civilian infrastructure.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow intended to increase pressure on Kyiv to achieve its war aims.A woman watches rescuers searching for survivors of a major overnight Russian attack on Kyiv.“In total, Russia launched more than 70 missiles of various types against Ukraine overnight, nearly half of them ballistic missiles, along with almost 500 attack drones,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X.Firefighters doused blazes in multiple locations as rescuers dug through rubble looking for survivors.Kyiv authorities said at least 17 people were confirmed dead, and the death toll was expected to climb. Scores of others were injured in the attacks.Fires and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were reported across several districts of the city, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the attacks “grave war crimes,” and called on partners and international organizations to provide “strong responses.”“I also want to particularly emphasize that it is immoral to justify Russian atrocities against Ukrainians by saying that Moscow acts in response to Ukraine's long-range strikes against Russia,” he said in post to X.On the eve of the attack, Zelenskyy suggested that he had received intelligence ahead of a time that Moscow was planning the assault. The situation was so concerning he immediately returned to Kyiv from Ireland, where he was on an official visit.For its part, Ukraine continued its widening drone campaign overnight, launching more than 330 drones at targets in the Moscow and Leningrad regions.By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.comJapanese Banks Commit $496 Million to India's Power Grid ExpansionIndia Fast-Tracks State Company Stake Sales to Cover Oil Shock CostsNigeria's NNPC Revenue Drops in May Despite Higher Oil Output
