Phoenix 24
Another night turns Ukraine’s skies into a battlefield.
KYIV, UKRAINE | JULY 2026
Russia launched a large overnight aerial assault against Ukraine, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and 121 attack drones. At least 11 people were reported injured in Kyiv as explosions and fires affected several districts of the capital. Ukrainian authorities urged residents to remain inside shelters while emergency teams responded across the city.
Ukraine’s Air Force said the offensive included six Iskander ballistic missiles, four Kh-59/69 cruise missiles and two Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles. Preliminary reports indicated that air defenses intercepted 111 drones and two cruise missiles. The scale of the operation again showed Moscow’s capacity to combine different weapons in a coordinated attack.
A nonresidential building was hit in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while a transformer substation caught fire in Darnytskyi. Another blaze erupted inside a three-story office building in Solomianskyi, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Emergency officials initially confirmed ten injured people, including a minor, before the reported toll increased to at least 11.
The bombardment followed another intense Russian offensive against Kyiv that killed at least 30 people and damaged more than 20 locations across the city. Ukrainian officials described that earlier operation as one of the largest attacks against the capital since the war began. Russian forces reportedly used hundreds of drones and missiles during that wave of strikes.
Ukraine has responded by targeting Russian oil refineries, fuel depots and energy terminals in an effort to weaken revenues supporting Moscow’s military campaign. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had recently struck facilities in Omsk and other Russian regions. The exchange of long-range attacks shows how the conflict is extending deeper into critical infrastructure on both sides.
For civilians, repeated nighttime attacks mean that air alerts, disrupted services and damaged neighborhoods remain part of daily life. Ukrainian military leaders warn that a decisive turning point remains distant as Russia continues offensive operations in the east. Each new barrage reinforces the human cost of a war increasingly defined by drones, missiles and endurance.
Contra la propaganda, memoria. / Against propaganda, memory.