Explosions rock Kyiv as Ukraine braces for Russia's next bombardment

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Explosions rocked Kyiv the evening of July 1, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing another large-scale attack against Ukraine.

Kyiv Independent journalists reported loud explosions and air defense activity in the capital at around 9:40 p.m. local time. Minutes later, Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko warned residents that air defense units were engaging drones on the outskirts of the city.

"There is a possibility that attack drones will continue moving toward the capital," Tkachenko said. "There is also a possibility of a combined attack in the coming days."

Kyiv residents flocked to underground metro stations for shelter, many pitching tents for the long night ahead.  

Shortly before the explosions began, Ukraine's Air Force warned that groups of Russian drones were headed for Kyiv and other cities, including Mykolaiv, Konotop, and Kherson. A little over an hour later, the Air Force said additional waves of drones were flying towards Kyiv.

Tkachenko warned that drones were attacking the city "from all directions."

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage from drone debris in multiple areas of the city, including a fire at a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district. No casualties have been reported at the time of publication.

Open-source monitoring channels reported that Russia had launched up to 10 strategic bombers, indicating an imminent mass missile attack.

In a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on July 1, Zelensky said that Russia was preparing for another mass strike against Ukraine.

"Once or twice a week, there are large-scale air strikes. Today, there is worrying news about preparations for yet another such mass Russian air strike. We have relevant intelligence data," the president said.

Zelensky's warning came amid constant Russian strikes on different regions of Ukraine throughout the day, including a glide bomb attack on Kharkiv that killed a 15-year-old boy and injured 32 civilians.

The Ukrainian company West Oil Group (WOG) announced that WOG gas stations in Kyiv and the surrounding region would be closed from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning on July 1 due to overnight attack threats.

WOG announced similar restrictions on gas stations in Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson oblasts, as well as some facilities in Poltava Oblast.

Ukrainians have been bracing for a massive attack in recent days, as Russia has pledged retribution for Ukraine's drone strikes on Moscow in June. The large-scale attack brought the reality of drone warfare to the Russian capital for the first time, disabling the Moscow Oil Refinery and exacerbating a nationwide fuel shortage.

The attacks on Moscow, combined with Ukraine's increasingly successful operation against Russian logistics in Crimea, have undermined Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims of battlefield victory — and possibly his grip on power in the Kremlin.

Russia's recent mass attacks on Ukraine have not only targeted residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, but also historic landmarks and cultural heritage sites.

A combined attack against Kyiv on May 24 damaged the National Art Museum, one of the oldest and most important museums in Ukraine. The same attack damaged government buildings, the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Ukrainian House, the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, and the Chornobyl Museum.

Russia struck again on June 15, damaging the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and other cultural institutions in a mass missile attack.