Explosions heard throughout Ukraine’s capital as forces defend towards ballistic missiles and drones concentrating on town.
Revealed On 2 Jul 2026
Kyiv got here below ballistic missile and drone assault in a single day, with main harm inflicted and a minimum of two folks killed and 11 injured after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending “huge” 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 fireplace burning uncontrolled on the prime 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 condominium constructing on hearth.
The AFP information company later stated two folks had been killed within the assaults, in accordance with 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 town.
Within the streets, residents have been seen making their method to shelters, carrying sleeping mats below their arms, in accordance with AFP.
Zelenskyy points warning earlier than Russian assault
The strikes on Kyiv got here simply hours after Zelenskyy warned of an imminent “huge Russian strike” and urged Ukrainians to take shelter.
“Immediately, we have now details about one other huge Russian strike; we have now related intelligence knowledge,” Zelenskyy stated throughout a joint information convention in Dublin with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Wednesday.
In a publish on X, Zelenskyy stated: “Instantly after this dialog, I’m returning to Ukraine”.
He known as on residents to be “particularly cautious” and “keep secure and shield your households and kids” by heeding air raid alerts.
“We all know that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been getting ready a large strike towards Ukraine for a while. That’s precisely the risk we face tonight,” he added.
Zelenskyy additionally accused Russia of “utterly refusing to finish the warfare” it launched in February 2022, regardless of Ukrainian efforts by “all attainable official and unofficial channels” to convey readiness for “conferences and significant negotiations”.
Putin “sees solely additional aggression towards Ukraine and towards different neighbours and Europe as an entire”, Zelenskyy stated.
