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Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine’s capital

Missile strikes on Kyiv leave six dead, including a child, and injure 82 as fires engulf the capital overnight.

Rescuers work at the site of a damaged apartment building.
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit in Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Published On 31 Jul 2025

Russia launched a barrage of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, killing at least six people – including a six-year-old boy and his mother – and injuring 52, according to Ukrainian officials.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Russian forces launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles, targeting residential buildings throughout the capital.

“Today the world has once again seen Russia’s response to our desire for peace with America and Europe. Therefore, peace without strength is impossible,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed nine children were wounded in the attack, the highest number of child casualties in a single night in the city since Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly three and a half years ago.

Yurii Kravchuk, 62, stood beside a damaged building wrapped in a blanket with a bandage around his head. He told the Reuters news agency he heard the missile alert but could not shelter in time.

“I started waking up my wife and then there was an explosion… My daughter ended up in the hospital.”

Emergency responders battled fires and cut through concrete blocks searching for survivors across the city.

Explosions rocked Kyiv for hours as fires lit up the night sky. Officials stated that 27 locations were hit, including schools and hospitals.

The air force documented five direct missile hits and 21 drone attacks across 12 locations.

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has escalated air attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities far from the front line in recent months.

United States President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his country would impose tariffs and other measures on Russia “ten days from today” if Moscow showed no progress towards ending the conflict.

“This is Putin’s response to Trump’s deadlines,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. “The world must respond with a tribunal and maximum pressure.”

Zelenskyy shared a video of burning ruins, stating that people remained trapped under the rubble of a partially destroyed residential building.

Ukrainian air defence units intercepted 288 attack drones and three cruise missiles, the air force reported.

Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Drones and missile strikes hit at least 27 locations in Kyiv in the early hours, city officials said. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Thursday's attacks came just hours before a crucial parliamentary vote to overturn a highly criticised law that curbed the powers of anticorruption bodies. [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Casualty numbers were likely to rise, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
A woman embraces a person as she waits for her son to be rescued from under the debris. [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Head of the State Emergency Service Andrii Danyk stand at the site of an apartment building hit in Russian missile and drone attacks. [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Russia fired 309 Shahed and decoy drones, and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles, overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted and jammed 288 strike drones and three missiles. Five missiles and 21 drones struck targets. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Rescuers carry a body at the site of an apartment building hit in Russian missile and drone attacks. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
Zelenskyy posted a video on social media of burning ruins after the attack [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]
Fires and destruction as missile attacks rattle Ukraine's capital
“This is unequivocally one of the largest attacks that we’ve seen in recent weeks and the majority focusing on Kyiv,” said Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv. [Thomas Peter/Reuters]