Russia hammers Kyiv in largest missile and drone barrage since war began
At least 26 people were injured in the bombardment.
Waves of drone and missile attacks have targeted Kyiv overnight in the largest aerial assault since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago.
The barrage killed one person and wounded at least 26 others, including a child, and inflicted severe damage across multiple districts of the capital in a seven-hour onslaught.
“It was a harsh, sleepless night,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. Less than a week ago, Russia launched what was then the largest aerial assault of the war.
That strategy has coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the 620-mile front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.
Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine during the night, the country’s air force said. The majority were Shahed drones but Russia also launched 11 missiles in the attack.
Alya Shahlai, a 23-year-old Kyiv wedding photographer, said that her home was destroyed in the attack.
“We were all in the (basement) shelter because it was so loud, staying home would have been suicidal,” she told The Associated Press. “We went down 10 minutes before and then there was a loud explosion and the lights went out in the shelter, people were panicking.”
Five ambulances were damaged while responding to calls, officials said, and emergency services removed more than 300 tons of rubble.
The attack on Kyiv began the same day a phone call took place between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky had a “very important and meaningful” conversation by phone, said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office. He said that details of the talks would be provided later.
US-led international peace efforts have been fruitless so far. Recent direct peace talks have led only to sporadic exchanges of prisoners of war, wounded troops and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Ukrainian officials and the Russian Defence Ministry said another prisoner swap took place on Friday, though neither side said how many soldiers were involved.
Mr Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians had been in Russian captivity since 2022. The Ukrainian soldiers were classified as “wounded and seriously ill”.
When asked if he made any progress during his call with Mr Putin on a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, Mr Trump said: “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I don’t think he’s looking to stop (the fighting), and that’s too bad,” Mr Trump said.
According to Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, the Russian leader emphasised that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the “root causes” of the conflict.
“Russia will not back down from these goals,” Mr Ushakov told reporters after the call.
Russia’s army crossed the border on February 24 2022 in an all-out invasion that Mr Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining Nato.
The US has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence missiles. Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Mr Zelensky says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time.
The Ukrainian response needs to be speedy as Russia escalates its aerial attacks. Russia launched 5,438 drones at Ukraine in June, a new monthly record, according to official data collated by The Associated Press.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said earlier this week that Russia also launched more than 330 missiles, including nearly 80 ballistic missiles, at Ukrainian towns and cities that month.
