---
title: "Russia Pounds Kyiv With One of the War's Largest Barrages, Killing at Least 13"
description: "Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine, striking Kyiv and other cities in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war. At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured, Ukrainian officials said, warning the toll could rise."
category: "World"
category_url: https://herald.la/category/world
author: "Camila Reyes"
published: 2026-07-02T09:18:50.000Z
updated: 2026-07-02T09:18:50.000Z
canonical: https://herald.la/article/russia-pounds-kyiv-with-one-of-the-war-s-largest-barrages-killing-at-least-13
tags: ["Ukraine", "Russia", "Kyiv", "war", "world"]
---
# Russia Pounds Kyiv With One of the War's Largest Barrages, Killing at Least 13

Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine, striking Kyiv and other cities in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war. At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured, Ukrainian officials said, warning the toll could rise.

Russia hammered Ukraine with a huge overnight barrage of drones and missiles, striking the capital, Kyiv, and other cities in what Ukrainian officials described as one of the largest aerial attacks of the more than four-year war.

## The toll

At least 13 people were killed in Kyiv and dozens more were injured, Ukrainian authorities said, cautioning that the figures were preliminary and could rise as rescuers searched damaged buildings, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/2/kyiv-attacked-after-ukraines-zelenskyy-warns-of-massive-russian-strike). In one of the hardest-hit areas, part of a multistory apartment block collapsed after a strike, trapping residents. Emergency crews worked through the day at sites across the city.

## The scale

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired hundreds of drones and missiles — on the order of several hundred aerial weapons — in a coordinated overnight assault, and reported intercepting the large majority of them, [Ukrainska Pravda reported](https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/07/02/8042035/). But enough got through to cause death and heavy damage. Air-raid sirens sounded over Kyiv for hours as successive waves came from different directions, [The Kyiv Independent reported](https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-rock-kyiv-as-ukraine-braces-for-russias-next-bombardment/). President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned publicly, hours earlier, that a major strike appeared to be coming.

## The two accounts

Ukrainian officials said the attack fell largely on residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure. Russia's Defense Ministry, for its part, said its strikes targeted military and energy-related sites and described them as a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory — a characterization Ukrainian authorities dispute, pointing to the damage to apartment buildings. Casualty and interception figures came from Ukrainian sources and could not be independently verified.

## The wider war

The bombardment is the latest turn in an intensifying exchange. In recent weeks Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia, hitting oil refineries and other facilities, and Zelensky has said he wants to raise the cost of the war for Moscow. Each side now regularly reaches the other's cities, and the civilian toll continues to climb. For Kyiv's residents, Thursday brought another night in shelters and another morning counting the dead.

## Sources

- [At least 13 killed in Kyiv as Zelenskyy warns of 'massive Russian strike'](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/2/kyiv-attacked-after-ukraines-zelenskyy-warns-of-massive-russian-strike)
- [Russia attacks Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles overnight](https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/07/02/8042035/)
- [Explosions rock Kyiv as Ukraine braces for Russia's next bombardment](https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-rock-kyiv-as-ukraine-braces-for-russias-next-bombardment/)