Russia

At Least 17 Killed in Kyiv, Russia and Ukraine Continue to Exchange Strikes

Was this a deliberate targeting of civilians or a set of retaliatory strikes on military facilities?

Published JUL 2

At Least 17 Killed in Kyiv, Russia and Ukraine Continue to Exchange Strikes

Story

Above: A Ukrainian firefighter in Kyiv following Russian strikes on July 2. Image credit: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

The Facts

At least 17 people were killed and 86 more were injured in Kyiv in Russian attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Ukraine's Air Force said the attack consisted of 74 missiles and 496 drones, most of which targeted the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainska Pravda
Ukrainska Pravda
The Kyiv Independent
"It was a terrible night for Kyiv," the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said, describing it as the biggest attack on the capital in the course of the war. Damage and destruction was reported in over 30 locations of the city, officials said.
The Kyiv Independent
Ukrainian National News
Ukrainska Pravda
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of targeting civilians, but Russia's Defense Ministry said it was a retaliatory attack for what it described as Ukraine's strikes on civilians, claiming military sites and energy infrastructure in the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihov, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava were hit.
Ukrainska Pravda
The Kyiv Independent
TASS
Reuters
Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff of its Armed Forces also announced strikes of its own, stating it hit an oil refinery in the city of Kstovo in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region. It also said a railway bridge and a drone storage facility in the "temporarily occupied" regions of Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia were hit.
Ukrainska Pravda
Ukrinform
Gleb Nikitin, governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, said one civilian was killed and four others were injured, adding there was damage to a number of residential buildings from falling drone debris.
TASS
Vijesti.Me
Russia's Defense Ministry said a total of 327 drones were shot down over nearly 20 regions of the country over the past day.
TASS
Breakingthenews

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-Ukraine narrative

Putin continues his vile and sadistic war on civilians, deliberately targeting residential areas, because in the war against Ukraine's military, he cannot achieve any of his aims. Allies need to take the necessary actions on missile defenses immediately — Ukraine cannot wait. They also need to put meaningful pressure on Putin to put an end to this illegal war.

Andrii Sybiha on X

Pro-Russia narrative

This massive Russian strike was a retaliation for Ukraine's terror attacks on civilians. Unlike Ukraine, Russia does not seek to harm civilians — purely military and energy infrastructure were targeted.

TASS