Russian missiles and drones strike Kyiv overnight, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens

Overnight assault on Kyiv

Russian forces launched waves of long-range missiles and attack drones against the Ukrainian capital overnight on 5–6 July. Air-raid sirens sent thousands of residents into metro stations as explosions rocked several districts. The attack came only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky had publicly warned that another large-scale strike on the city was likely.

Casualties and damage

At least 10 people were killed, with one source citing 11 dead, and between 46 and 56 were injured, according to city and regional officials. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said 27 of the wounded were hospitalised, including three children. The heaviest damage was in the Podilskyi and Darnytskyi districts, where residential high-rises were hit. In Podilskyi, a missile tore through apartments between the fifth and ninth floors, partially collapsing the façade. In Darnytskyi, fires broke out in a 25-storey building and debris struck a 30-storey tower. Outside the capital, one person died and ten were injured in communities of Kyiv oblast, governor Mykola Kalashnyk reported.

It was a night of hell here in Kyiv. I'm still at one of the hit sites; behind me is a residential building. The scene is critical, there are charred bodies. I saw the rescue team save an elderly man alive just now, it's terrible. Those who know me know it's hard for me to be speechless, but today I am. We still let these things happen, I'm tired and angry.

Russia's justification

Moscow's defence ministry described the barrage as a response to what it called Ukrainian terrorist attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. It said the strikes used high-precision weapons launched from ground, air and sea, as well as drones, and targeted defence-industry enterprises, energy and fuel facilities in Kyiv city and region, plus military airfields in Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Kyiv oblasts.

Ukrainian counterstrikes

During the same night, Ukrainian forces struck the Yaroslavl oil refinery, roughly 250 km northeast of Moscow, according to Russian Telegram channels. Videos posted by residents showed thick smoke rising from the facility. In Crimea, the port city of Sevastopol lost electricity after what the Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhaev called a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure. The refinery had already been hit a week earlier, on 28 June.

International reaction

Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace as the Russian missiles flew toward western Ukraine. Rescue operations in Kyiv continued through the morning, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise further as teams searched for people trapped under rubble.