At least eight people, including a mother and her six-year-old son, were killed and more than 130 others injured in a wave of Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
Over two dozen locations in the Ukrainian capital were hit, with an apartment block collapsing after being struck. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 12 children were among the injured—the highest number of child casualties in a single night since Russia’s full-scale invasion began.
Despite threats of new US sanctions, Russia launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles, according to Ukraine’s air force. Many were intercepted, but several caused destruction across the city.
“An entire entrance was destroyed. Rescuers are clearing the rubble,” said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, confirming that three of the fatalities occurred at the collapsed apartment block.
Thirty of the 135 injured people remained hospitalized by mid-afternoon, including multiple children.
President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of targeting Kyiv deliberately, calling it a brutal response to diplomatic efforts: “The world has yet again seen Russia’s response to our, America’s and Europe’s desire for peace. More demonstrative murder. This is why peace without strength is impossible,” he said.
The Sviatoshynskyi and Solomyanskyi districts were hit hardest. Shockwaves also shattered windows in a children’s hospital ward in the Shevchenkivskyi district, while a school, kindergarten, and a university building were damaged.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called it a “horrible morning”, adding: “There are still people under the rubble.”
He noted: “Trump has been very generous and patient with Putin, but now it’s time to put maximum pressure on Moscow through sanctions.”
Earlier in July, US President Donald Trump had issued a 50-day ceasefire deadline to Putin, but during a recent UK visit, he shortened it to “ten or 12 days.”
“We were going to have a ceasefire and maybe peace… and all of a sudden you have missiles flying into Kyiv and other places,” Trump said.
In eastern Ukraine, Russia claimed it had taken the strategic town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, though Ukraine denied it had fallen.
The DeepState open-source project reported that Russian forces controlled parts of the town, but fighting continued.
Chasiv Yar’s elevation gives it strategic significance, offering a vantage point over several major cities. Analysts say nearby Pokrovsk, around 60km away, is now the most vulnerable point on the front line, with fears of a potential Russian encirclement of Ukrainian forces there.
(BBC)
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