Published On 7/3/2026
The Ukrainian authorities announced that the victims of the Russian attack on the capital, Kiev, had risen to 27 people, at a time when both sides issued threats to launch new mutual attacks in this war that has been going on for more than four years.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klycho described the Russian attack as the largest on the capital since the start of the war, while the official in the city’s military administration, Timur Tkachenko, reported that 27 people were killed and 91 others were injured, while there are still missing people.
The Red Cross announced – in a post on Facebook – the destruction of its warehouse containing “320,000 units of humanitarian materials and equipment” in the Russian bombing, which also caused the burning of about 800,000 books in a warehouse of the “Bukchev” publishing house, in which a fire broke out.
The debris also caused damage to a building “in which there were a number of diplomats,” according to what a European Union spokeswoman told the French Agency, noting that the Union’s diplomats were safe.
496 marches and 74 missiles
The Ukrainian Air Force explained that Russia launched 496 drones and 74 missiles, including ballistic missiles that are difficult to confront, noting that 48 missiles and 476 drones were shot down.
About 52,000 people – including 4,500 children – rushed to subway stations to take shelter from the bombing, which is the highest number of people flocking to these shelters in recent years, according to the metro management authority.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to respond to the Russian attack, and said – during an inspection tour of the affected sites – that “Russia is bombing civilian targets in order to push Ukraine to simply abandon the state, and to create a rift between civil society and the army. This is what it has been counting on throughout the war. This will never happen.”
The Ukrainian president said – in other statements – that he hopes to receive assistance in the field of air defense from his Western allies during the NATO summit scheduled to be held soon in Ankara, requesting from the United States a license that allows the manufacture of Patriot air defense missiles.
The Russian attack came hours after Ukraine bombed an oil refinery and a weapons factory in Russia, and at a time when both sides intensified their mutual attacks in this conflict, which has entered its fifth year.
International condemnation
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the recent Russian attacks, reiterating the call for a ceasefire.
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure – wherever they occur – are a grave violation of international humanitarian law and should stop immediately.
In addition, European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas proposed imposing new sanctions on entities that support the Russian military-industrial complex in response to these strikes.
In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Moscow will continue to increase pressure on the Kiev regime in order to achieve the goals it has set.
For his part, an American official said – after the Russian attack on Kiev – that President Donald Trump is seeking to reach a peace agreement that will end the “senseless killing” in Ukraine.
The official added to the French Agency in response to an inquiry regarding the Russian attack: “President Trump has a sense of humanity, and wants to settle this war so that the senseless killing stops.”
He pointed out that Trump and his team have worked hard to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic that we will eventually reach a peace agreement.
8 killed in other attacks
Meanwhile, local officials reported that Russian attacks resulted in the deaths of three people in different regions of eastern Ukraine, while three people were injured.
Oleksandr Hansa, the governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region, said that a person was killed after a series of attacks around the town of Nikopol, noting that a seven-year-old child was killed in an attack, and two other children were injured northeast of the town of Sinelnikov.
In the Donetsk region – which is the focus of a number of clashes along the front line extending 1,250 kilometers – Russian forces dropped seven bombs on the town of Oleksandrivka, resulting – according to Governor Vadim Velashkin – in the death of one person and the injury of two.
In the city of Kryvyi Rih, two people were injured as a result of a missile falling on a densely populated area, according to what the head of the city’s military administration said early Friday.
On the other hand, the Russian authorities announced – yesterday, Thursday – that 5 people were killed in Ukrainian attacks using drones and missiles that targeted various Russian sites.
Gleb Nikitin, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, east of the capital, Moscow, said that Russian air defense systems in the city destroyed 30 Ukrainian drones.
He pointed out that the debris from the downed drones caused damage to an industrial facility and several homes, expressing his sadness at the death of a civilian and the injury of 4 others.
In turn, the Ministry of Emergencies in the city of Belgorod announced that two people were killed and nine injured as a result of attacks by Ukrainian drones.
Yevgeny Palitsky, the governor of Zaporozhye Province, announced that two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike during maintenance and renovation work on the electricity network.
