Death toll from massive strikes on Kyiv rises to 30
Ukraine said on Friday (July 3, 2026) that the death toll from a massive barrage on its capital had risen to at least 30 people
Ukraine said on Friday (July 3, 2026) that the death toll from a massive barrage on its capital had risen to at least 30 people, as both Kyiv and Moscow vowed fresh assaults. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces would “definitely” retaliate for the Wednesday (July 1, 2026) to Thursday (July 2, 2026) overnight pummelling, as he inspected an apartment block that was partially destroyed. The European Union’s top diplomat proposed new sanctions on Moscow, as Zelensky pressed the United States for licences to manufacture Patriot air-defence missiles. UN chief Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s barrage and repeated a ceasefire call. “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure wherever they occur are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately,” said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. But the Kremlin vowed to further ramp up “pressure” on Kyiv, sticking to its no-compromise rhetoric. ‘Most massive attack’ Russia has routinely launched waves of missiles and drones during its invasion, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. AFP journalists in central and eastern Kyiv heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents rushing to shelter in metro stations. In the morning, locals stood on the rubble of destroyed apartment blocks ripped apart by the barrage, as smoke poured over the Kyiv skyline.
Blasts started echoing out late on Wednesday, lasting into the early hours of Thursday as Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas in the city centre. Mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as the “enemy’s most massive attack on the capital”. Ukraine’s state emergency service said that the strikes had killed 30 people, increasing an earlier toll after three more bodies were pulled from the rubble. The head of the city’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said 91 people were wounded. The Ukrainian branch of the Red Cross said its key warehouse had been destroyed and around $2 million worth of humanitarian aid lost. Debris also damaged a building “hosting a number of diplomats”, EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper told AFP, adding that the EU diplomats were safe. And in Kryvyi Rig, two people were wounded when a missile struck a densely populated area, the head of the central city’s military administration said early Friday. Kyiv urged its allies to send more air defence. “We also very much count on a decision by the United States regarding licences for Patriots,” Zelensky said in a post on Facebook on Thursday. Later, after talks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, he added: “Defending against ballistic missiles is impossible without a sufficient number of missiles for Patriot systems.” Ukraine wants to manufacture munitions for the US-made missile interceptor system, but defence experts say it would take time to set up production domestically.
The BriefWire