Russia hits Ukraine with largest number of ballistic missiles, Kyiv says
Russia launched over 40 missiles along with 120 strike drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Russia battered Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war, killing at least one person and wounding 16 others, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
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A series of powerful explosions thundered across the city in an attack that involved 41 missiles of various types and ravaged buildings across several districts.
Residential buildings, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory were among the structures damaged, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, adding that three people were in a serious condition.
At one location in western Kyiv, emergency workers picked through smouldering debris and doused bombed-out apartments.
Read more: At least 'eight dead and 62 injured' after Ukrainian drones strike Russian online retail warehouses
Overnight, Russia carried out one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv. The enemy launched more than 40 missiles of various types – most of them against the capital – and 120 attack drones.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2026
As of now, one person has been reported killed in Kyiv and the region, and 16… pic.twitter.com/YMWDlB6wGA
A resident who identified himself as Vlad told Reuters he had been inside his apartment when a blast tore off his balcony door, which smashed him in the head.
"My grandmother lives with me, and she can't walk. How could I run away and leave her behind?" he said.
Closer to the city centre, an underground pedestrian passage near a frequently targeted metro station had caved in, leaving a pile of rubble.
Russian forces have stepped up ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks as Ukraine struggles with a critical shortage of US-designed air defence.
Kyiv's military said it had shot down 18 missiles in Sunday's attack, which was aimed primarily at the Ukrainian capital. It added that 108 out of 125 drones had also been downed.
Zelenskyy said last week that the US and Ukraine have reached a political agreement on licences to make the prized Patriot interceptors. He added that he hoped production could begin by the end of the year.
But the mounting Russian attacks in the fifth year of Moscow's full-scale war are heaping pressure on Kyiv's foreign partners to accelerate supply of anti-ballistic defences.
"Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now," Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday. "Interceptors are needed every day."
The attack on Kyiv comes after at least eight people were killed and 62 injured when Ukrainian drones struck two warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries.
Seven of the deaths, believed to be night shift workers, occurred at a building in the city of Tambov, roughly 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow.