Not less than two useless and 11 injured as Ukraine’s forces defend in opposition to ballistic missiles, drones focusing on capital metropolis.
Printed On 2 Jul 2026
Kyiv got here below a ballistic missile and drone assault in a single day, with no less than two folks killed and 11 injured after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending “large” assault by Russia.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging platform, stated the roof of a resort was on hearth early on Thursday morning.
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Photos posted on-line confirmed a hearth burning uncontrolled on the high of the constructing on the central Shevchenko Boulevard.
“Kyiv is below assault from ballistic missiles and UAVs,” Klitschko wrote, utilizing the acronym for unmanned aerial automobiles, or drones.
Klitschko later stated that 11 folks have been injured, with others trapped in a broken nine-storey residential constructing, and the roof of one other high-rise residence constructing on hearth.
The AFP information company later stated two folks had been killed within the assaults, in response to metropolis authorities.
Photos shared on unofficial Telegram channels confirmed metropolis residents crowding into underground stations to shelter from the Russian strikes.
Journalists with AFP within the central and japanese districts of Kyiv reported listening to greater than a dozen explosions as Ukraine’s Air Pressure warned that ballistic missiles have been approaching the town.
Within the streets, residents have been seen making their technique to shelters, carrying sleeping mats below their arms, in response to AFP.
Zelenskyy points warning earlier than Russian assault
The strikes on Kyiv got here simply hours after Zelenskyy warned of an imminent “large Russian strike” and urged Ukrainians to take shelter.
“At the moment, now we have details about one other large Russian strike; now we have related intelligence knowledge,” Zelenskyy stated throughout a joint information convention in Dublin with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday.
In a submit on X, Zelenskyy stated: “Instantly after this dialog, I’m returning to Ukraine”.
He known as on residents to be “particularly cautious” and “keep protected and shield your households and youngsters” by heeding air raid alerts.
“We all know that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been making ready a large strike in opposition to Ukraine for a while. That’s precisely the menace we face tonight,” he added.
Zelenskyy additionally accused Russia of “fully refusing to finish the warfare” it launched in February 2022, regardless of Ukrainian efforts by way of “all potential official and unofficial channels” to convey readiness for “conferences and significant negotiations”.
Putin “sees solely additional aggression in opposition to Ukraine and in opposition to different neighbours and Europe as an entire”, Zelenskyy stated.
