Russia fired more than 300 drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight, killing at least nine people, including a 6-year-old boy, and injuring more than 100 others, officials said.
The deadly attack targeted the Kyiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions, with Ukraine’s capital being the primary target, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as he condemned the civilian casualties.
“Today, the world once again saw Russia’s answer to our desire for peace with America and Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “New demonstrative killings. That is why peace without strength is impossible.”
A man hugs a woman after a missile strike hit a nine-story apartment building. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Russia attacked Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight. REUTERS
Rescuers carry a victim’s body from the rubble after drone and missile strikes hit Kyiv. Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesThe latest Russian bombardment saw Moscow launch 309 suicide and decoy drones over the border, along with eight Iskander-K cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force.
While Kyiv’s defenses were able to intercept and jam 288 drones and three missiles, five missiles and 21 drones still made it to their targets.
At least 27 locations across Kyiv were targeted by the attack, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.
Along with the deaths, 124 people were wounded, including 10 children, the youngest of whom was a 5-month-old girl, Tkachenko added.
Ukrainian rescuers worked to extinguish a fire at a residential building in Kyiv. UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP via Getty ImagesMore than 100 buildings were damaged in the assault, which also took out a large part of a nine-story residential building, city officials said.
Rescue teams searched for people trapped under the rubble. APThe heaviest damage was seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, where homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities were hit, Tkachenko said.
Yana Zhabborova, 35, a mother of two young children, said she was stunned by the destruction all around her as explosions woke up her family and blew off the doors and windows to her home during the attack.
Two people comfort each other after Russian drone and missile strikes attacked Kyiv on July 31, 2025. Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images“It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left,” she told the Associated Press.
Ukraine fired its own counterattack overnight, with Russia’s Ministry of Defense reporting the interception of at least 32 drones.
The overnight attack killed at least six people, including a 6-year-old boy. UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP via Getty ImagesA Ukrainian drone, however, managed to penetrate Moscow’s defenses and hit an industrial site in Russia’s Penza region, causing a fire, local Gov. Oleg Melnichenko said.
Trains along the Volgograd region were also halted after drone wreckage fell on the railways, according to Russian Railways.
Two women embraced each other after they survived the overnight strikes. APThe overnight attacks come as Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its army took full control of Chasiv Yar, a key city along the frontlines in eastern Donetsk.
Ukraine had reported at least seven clashes in the city over the last 24 hours, with DeepState, an open-source map of the battlefield, showing that areas inside Chasiv Yar remain uncontrolled by either side.
Russia’s invasion army has attempted to gain control of the hilltop city for 18 months, as the strategic location would allow Moscow troops to hold the high ground and attack the backbone of Ukraine’s defenses in the region.
Despite the Kremlin’s claims, Ukrainian military spokesperson Victor Trehubov said Kyiv remains in control of Chasiv Yar.
“Just a fabrication, there wasn’t even a change in the situation,” he said.
The new tensions on the battlefield come just days after President Trump issued a new deadline to the Kremlin, calling for an end to the war in 10 to 12 days or else Russia would be hit with punitive tariffs and sanctions.
With Post wires
