Explosions heard in Kyiv as Russia launches large-scale ballistic missile attack across Ukraine

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

Russia launched a wave of ballistic missile attacks across Ukraine in the early hours of July 30, with multiple explosions reported in Kyiv just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing another large-scale attack against Ukraine.

Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv at 1:18 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned earlier on July 29 that Russia would likely carry out a massive attack on the country overnight, in a message posted on social media.

"The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago, and there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight," Zelensky said in a post on X.

"Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and take care of yourselves," he added.

Mass attacks have targeted Ukraine's capital with alarming frequency throughout spring and summer 2026. As Russia's offensive on the battlefield has slowed, Moscow has adopted a new tactic in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine: overwhelm the country's strained air defenses with ballistic missiles, attacking residential neighborhoods and cultural sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on July 3 that Moscow's large-scale missile attacks against Ukraine "must continue."

Ukraine has hit back, launching successful deep strikes against Russia's oil infrastructure and military facilities — even attacking traditional strongholds such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. The effectiveness of Kyiv's aerial campaign has changed the stakes of the war and mounted serious pressure on the Kremlin.

But setting refineries aflame in Russia does not protect the Ukrainian cities that have run out of Patriot interceptors, the only air defense ammunition capable of shooting down Russia's ballistic missiles.

It may, however, persuade Russia to accept a partial truce in the sky. Ukraine and the U.S. are preparing a new round of peace proposals to present to Moscow in the near future, including a ceasefire on aerial attacks, officials told the Kyiv Independent on July 24.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on July 28 to discuss Patriot interceptors and reviving the peace process between Russia and Ukraine. The air truce proposal was reportedly on the agenda for their meeting.

Zelensky and Trump said afterwards that they held a good conversation, reflecting an apparent thaw in the White House's attitudes toward Kyiv. In a television interview following the meeting, Zelensky said Putin has lost the initiative in the war with Ukraine but stubbornly refuses to declare a ceasefire.