Kyiv suffered its heaviest aerial bombardment since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials said on Friday, following a massive overnight drone and missile attack that shook the capital and forced residents into shelters.
The assault, which lasted seven hours, left one person dead and at least 26 injured, including a child. Fires broke out across the city, while emergency crews worked through the night to evacuate survivors, clear debris, and extinguish blazes.
“It was a harsh, sleepless night,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, calling the coordinated strike “cynical” and aimed at terrorizing civilians.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched a total of 550 drones and missiles across the country, most of them Iranian-made Shahed drones. Kyiv bore the brunt of the attack, with 11 missiles launched and over 300 tons of rubble cleared from damaged areas.
Ukraine’s military said it intercepted 270 incoming projectiles, but several reached their targets, striking eight sites and damaging five districts in the capital.
“What Kyiv endured last night cannot be called anything but a deliberate act of terror,” said Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko in a statement on social media. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described it as “one of the worst nights so far.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it was targeting Ukrainian military production sites, including drone and weapons factories.
Among those affected was 23-year-old wedding photographer Alya Shahlai, whose home was destroyed. “We were all in the basement shelter because it was so loud, staying home would have been suicidal,” she said.
The attack coincided with a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump later spoke with Zelenskyy, in what Ukrainian officials described as a “very important and meaningful” discussion. However, Trump said his conversation with Putin showed no signs of progress toward ending the war.
“I don’t think he’s looking to stop the fighting, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters.
Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia remains committed to achieving its objectives and addressing what it calls the “root causes” of the war.
Peace negotiations remain at a standstill, with recent progress limited to prisoner exchanges. On Friday, Ukraine and Russia confirmed a new swap of wounded soldiers, with Zelenskyy noting that many had been held since 2022.
The latest assault comes amid a sharp escalation in Russian military activity. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 5,438 drones in June—its highest monthly total—alongside more than 330 missiles, including 80 ballistic missiles.
As the United States pauses deliveries of some air defense systems, Ukraine is under increasing pressure to ramp up domestic weapons production, a process Zelenskyy says is ongoing but not yet sufficient.
Beyond Kyiv, several other regions—Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and the wider Kyiv region—also came under attack, fueling fears of a broader Russian offensive across Ukraine.
