KYIV, July 31: Russia launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least 11 people, including a 6-year-old boy, and injuring 124 others, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. Among the wounded were 10 children, the youngest just five months old. The strikes damaged more than 100 buildings across 27 locations in the capital, including homes, schools, and hospitals. A nine-storey residential building partially collapsed in the Solomianskyi district, and rescue operations were ongoing.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles; 288 drones and three missiles were intercepted. However, several missiles and drones struck targets in Kyiv and other regions including Dnipro, Mykolaiv, and Poltava. In Kramatorsk, a Russian strike killed one person and wounded at least 11.
Russia claimed it had taken full control of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a strategic town near the front lines. Ukrainian officials denied the claim, calling it a fabrication, though independent mapping shows most of the area may now be under Russian control.
Meanwhile, Russia said it downed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. Debris from one strike caused a fire at an industrial site in Penza, while wreckage disrupted train services in the Volgograd region.
President Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies to strengthen support and impose further pressure on Moscow. (AP)
