KYIV, Ukraine — An overnight assault by Russian missiles and drones on Ukraine’s capital claimed the lives of at least 13 individuals, including a young boy aged six, and left 132 others injured, as reported by local authorities on Thursday.
Among the injured were 14 children, including a five-month-old girl, marking the highest number of child casualties in a single incident on Kyiv since the invasion commenced three years ago.
The strike caused extensive damage, leading to the partial collapse of a nine-story residential building, articulated Tymur Tkachenko, head of the City Military Administration. Rescue operations were swiftly undertaken to locate anyone trapped in the wreckage.
Yana Zhabborova, a resident of the affected building, described waking to explosive sounds that shattered her doors and windows. As a mother to a 5-month-old and a 5-year-old child, she lamented, “It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left.”
The Ukrainian air force detailed that Russia unleashed 309 Shahed and decoy drones, along with eight Iskander-K cruise missiles overnight. Ukrainian defenses managed to intercept 288 drones and three of the missiles. However, the remaining five missiles and 21 drones succeeded in striking various targets.
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk was also hit when Russian forces targeted a residential five-story building, resulting in one death and at least 11 injuries, as noted by Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration.
Kyiv saw extensive damage across 27 locations, with the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts bearing the brunt. More than a hundred buildings suffered damage, including residential homes, educational institutions, and medical centers.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday that 32 Ukrainian drones had been downed overnight. Meanwhile, a drone incident ignited a fire at an industrial site in Russia’s Penza region, though no casualties were reported, according to local governor Oleg Melnichenko.
In a related incident, trains were temporarily halted in the Volgograd region due to drone debris disrupting railway infrastructures, said the Russian Railways.
Russia’s military also announced full control over the city of Chasiv Yar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a strategic location from which assaults on other key defensive positions in Ukraine could be launched.
This claim was refuted by Ukrainian military spokesman Victor Trehubov as mere fiction without factual changes on the ground. However, a report from Ukraine’s Army General Staff noted seven skirmishes in Chasiv Yar over the preceding day, with maps indicating most areas remained under Russian sway.
A widely utilized Ukrainian military and analytical map identified neighborhoods south and west of Chasiv Yar as contested zones.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the extensive targeting focusing on regions like Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy, and Mykolaiv in an online statement. He condemned the attacks as a stark indicator of Russia’s response to Ukraine’s peace desires, pressing allies to bolster defense commitments and negotiate terms with Moscow.
In broader geopolitical movements, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated an August 8 deadline for peace progress, warning of impending sanctions should Russia’s reluctance persist. He also announced plans for a U.S. envoy to visit Russia, following deliberations in Israel, and expressed dissatisfaction with Russia’s actions, suggesting further sanctions might be required, even if their effectiveness is uncertain.
Western leaders continue to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of stalling peace processes to gain strategic advantage in Ukraine.