Russian strikes kill 13 in Kyiv, surrounding region

Kyiv, Ukraine experienced significant casualties and damage as Russian bombardments struck the capital and surrounding areas overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a global response to Moscow's escalation of the four-year conflict. Amid the destruction, rescuers worked to clear rubble, including damaged buildings and a children's hospital.

One resident recounted the sudden destruction, losing her windows and nearly her husband in mere minutes after an air raid alert. Russian ballistic missiles, capable of reaching thousands of kilometers per hour, hit Kyiv within minutes of a warning, leaving little time to seek shelter. Kyiv struggled to intercept these missiles, which Russia fired in record numbers in July.

The death toll was 13, including 12 in the capital and one in the surrounding region. Warehouses, including one run by the Ukrainian Red Cross, sustained damage. The nine-hour attack prompted security responses from neighboring NATO member states, with Poland mobilizing aircraft and activating air defenses, and Romania deploying fighter jets and scrambling a Romanian air force helicopter after detecting aerial threats.

Russia claimed to have hit military-industrial facilities, a transportation and logistics center, and warehouses in Kyiv and its region. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed, with Russia demanding substantial territorial and political concessions from Ukraine, which has refused such terms.