© UNICEF Consequences of an attack on a residential area of Kyiv. Photo from the archive Ukraine: Rescuers are trying to free civilians from the rubble after a massive attack on the capital Peace and Security
At least 20 people were killed in one of the worst attacks on Kyiv during the war, but the number continues to rise as search and rescue operations continue. The strikes hit densely built-up residential areas of the Ukrainian capital, several blocks were evacuated.
We condemned the attacks
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attacks on Ukrainian cities “carried out last night by Russian armed forces using missiles and drones.” “Any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, clearly constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and must immediately stop,” said a statement released on behalf of the UN chief by his press service.“Search and rescue operations continue. People remain under the rubble of destroyed residential buildings, among them a 15-year-old girl and her family,” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Matthias Schmale. Shmale noted that many of the three million residents of Kyiv spent about 11 hours that night in bomb shelters or sheltering at home “under the terrifying sounds of war.” As a result of the night shelling, dozens of people were injured, including several children. The mayor of Kyiv called the incident “the most massive attack” on the city. Among the wounded are several medical workers and ambulance drivers: their station was hit, and several cars were damaged. According to Shmale, almost all areas of the Ukrainian capital were damaged: residential buildings, a hotel, a market and other civilian objects were destroyed or damaged. According to the UN, from December 2025 to May 2026, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine increased by 40 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. “Civilians in Kyiv and throughout the country should not live in anticipation of another attack; they are protected by international humanitarian law,” Shmale stressed.
“A Deadly Trend”
The UN humanitarian coordinator noted that the latest attacks on densely populated areas of Ukraine are part of an “ongoing deadly trend.” “The human cost and fear caused by this and other attacks add to the psychological trauma that people are forced to live with,” said Shmale. “The longer the war goes on, the deeper these invisible scars become.”
The number of victims grows
Large-scale Russian strikes in Ukraine last night are the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have led to a sharp rise in civilian casualties. This was reported to the UN Human Rights Office today. Russian armed forces reportedly fired 74 missiles and almost 500 attack drones overnight, targeting Kyiv as the main target.
As search and rescue efforts continue, the number of deaths and injuries is expected to rise. “This massive attack affected all areas of the city Kyiv,” said the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell. “Our findings have repeatedly confirmed that the use of powerful explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas has devastating and predictable consequences for civilians.”
At the scene of the tragedy
Employees of the Monitoring Mission visited one of the most affected places in the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, where a rocket directly hit a nine-story residential building. A significant part of the building collapsed. When the mission arrived on July 2, rescuers continued to clear the rubble in search of at least seven people believed to be trapped under the rubble.
“The scale of the destruction and the obvious human suffering is horrific,” said Bell, who visited the scene of the tragedy in the Darnytskyi region. – The rocket hit a residential building, surrounded by other apartment buildings, a school and a playground. Even as the rescue operation continued, families remained in agonizing uncertainty as they awaited news of their missing loved ones.”
Mission representatives spoke with residents affected by the strike. One of the women said that her apartment was completely destroyed, and she, along with her four-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter, survived only because the family managed to take refuge in a shelter before the attack began. According to her, two neighbors are still listed as missing and are presumably under the rubble of a destroyed house.
Escalation of hostilities
In 2026, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine is increasing every month and significantly exceeds the figures for the same periods of the previous three years. The UN Office cites the increasingly active use of long-range missiles and drones by the Russian armed forces in urban areas of Ukraine as one of the main reasons for this growth.