Russia claims capture of Kostiantynivka as Kyiv death toll from massive air attack reaches 30

The Kyiv barrage

On the night of 1–2 July, Russia launched 74 missiles (the majority ballistic) and 496 drones at Ukraine, according to Ukrainian air force data. Of those, Ukraine intercepted 48 missiles and 476 drones. Kyiv’s military administration said 28 of the missiles aimed at the capital were ballistic, a record for a single attack. The death toll from the strike reached 30 on Friday, with 91 people wounded. Search and rescue operations were ongoing in the heavily damaged Darnitskyi district, where many victims were still believed trapped under rubble.

If our partners had delivered what they promised in time, we could have saved more houses and, honestly, more lives.

The president said Ukraine would have needed at least 140 Patriot interceptor missiles to neutralise the assault. The Patriot system is one of the few capable of downing ballistic missiles; the US and Germany have been the main suppliers.

The attack destroyed a Red Cross warehouse holding roughly EUR 1.75 million in aid supplies, and a book storage facility with 800,000 volumes burned to the ground. A drone struck the roof of a central hotel housing diplomats and journalists, setting its upper floors alight. More than 52,000 residents spent the night in Kyiv’s 46 metro stations after the air-raid warning sounded.

Russian advance and southern strikes

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the eastern city of Kostiantynivka is now fully under Russian control. The town is a strategic strongpoint on the road to the last major Donbass cities still held by Kyiv, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Several hundred Ukrainian soldiers were previously reported to be holding out in the city centre, and independent verification of Moscow’s claim has not been possible.

Separately, a Russian glide-bomb hit an industrial building in the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one civilian and injuring five, according to regional military governor Ivan Fedorov. In the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region, an attack on a market in Tokmak killed five people and wounded 18, Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said. Tokmak lies roughly 25 kilometres from the frontline.

Ukrainian drone campaign in Crimea

Overnight, Ukrainian forces launched 48 drone targets, primarily on occupied Crimea. Robert Browdy, head of the Ukrainian drone unit, stated that 10 energy substations and one air-defence system were hit. No casualty figures or detailed damage assessments were released. The strikes are part of a weeks-long campaign aimed at Russian supply routes and rear infrastructure.

Diplomatic tensions and military aid

In Warsaw, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha proposed a crisis-resolution package to Poland amid a dispute over World War II history. The package includes consultations between foreign ministries, a meeting of historians, and the involvement of religious leaders from both nations.

I proposed a package of measures to resolve the crisis.

Poland’s defence ministry meanwhile confirmed that it would not transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. An earlier plan had foreseen swapping the jets for Ukrainian drone technology, but the deal collapsed when Ukraine withdrew, according to Polish Defence Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz.

NATO summit and European defence

Speaking a few days before the NATO summit in Ankara, former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer predicted the alliance is unlikely to survive.

The Americans are effectively on their way out. I don’t believe NATO will survive like this in the long term.

He called for a European nuclear deterrent if the transatlantic bond breaks. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger separately urged governments to provide firm, long-term purchase guarantees, saying that only clear commitments would allow the defence industry to invest massively in new production capacity. He described the transatlantic partnership as essential.