Russian drone and missile attack kills at least nine in Kyiv after Zelensky returns from Dublin warning
Kyiv suffered a large-scale Russian attack with drones and missiles overnight, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 30, after President Zelensky rushed back from Ireland warning of an imminent strike.
The Ukrainian capital came under sustained aerial assault in the early hours of Thursday, 2 July 2026, with waves of Russian drones and missiles igniting fires and damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky had cut short a visit to Dublin on Wednesday after receiving intelligence of an impending large-scale attack.
Zelensky's pre-emptive warning
Speaking at a press conference in Ireland on Wednesday, Zelensky said he was returning to Kyiv immediately. "We know that Putin has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time already," he stated, urging Ukrainians to exercise extra caution. The president's dash home underlined the gravity of the threat as air-raid alerts spread across the country.
The barrage unfolds
"During the night, the enemy again launched a massive attack on the Kyiv region using attack drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles," Mykola Kalachnyk, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, posted on Telegram. Journalists on the ground reported hearing explosions over several hours. A first blast in the city centre sent up a cloud of smoke, flames, and embers; some fifty minutes later, a second detonation near the same site hurled debris through the air.
- Zelensky warns of imminent large-scale Russian attack during a Dublin press conference and returns to Kyiv.
- Russian forces launch waves of drones and missiles against Kyiv overnight.
- Second explosion rocks the city centre approximately 50 minutes after the first impact.
- Authorities confirm at least nine dead and over 30 wounded; 28 sites hit.
Casualties and destruction
Head of the capital's military administration Timour Tkatchenko reported that 28 sites were hit, "mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure." He initially confirmed two dead, later updating the toll to nine. Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the death count at ten with more than 30 wounded. Tkatchenko said: "Once again, the enemy is deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians. The damage is considerable and the number of injured is significant, including children." Klitschko added that a building housing an ambulance post in the centre had been damaged.
Voices from the shelters
Residents streamed toward underground stations carrying mattresses. Kateryna Koval, sheltering in the metro, told AFP she had grown out of the habit of seeking cover but changed her mind after recent strikes. "After the last attacks, I decided to go because there have simply been too many hits on civilian sites in the recent attack," she said. Doctor Kateryna Kucheriava, also in Kyiv, reflected: "Of course, the situation can always get worse, but I don't think they can intimidate us."
Recurrent pattern of escalation
The attack follows a devastating 2 June barrage when Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles, killing 23 people across Ukraine, 16 of them in Dnipro and seven in Kyiv. Since then, Kyiv has intensified strikes on Russian territory; on 18 June a major Ukrainian attack hit a Moscow refinery, injuring 17. US-mediated peace talks have stalled as both sides trade blows.
