Russia unleashes one of its 'largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv,' at least 1 killed, 17 injured

At least one person has been killed, and 17 others injured, after a major Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv and the surrounding oblast overnight on July 19.

Russia deployed 125 drones, 25 ballistic missiles, 10 Zirkon hypersonic missiles, and six other missiles, Ukraine's Air Force reported, with most projectiles aimed at Ukraine's capital.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as one of Russia's "largest ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv."

"It was the scariest night of my life," 30-year-old Eleonora Belei told the Kyiv Independent outside her damaged apartment building in the Lukianivska district, an area in the north-western section of central Kyiv that is frequently targeted by Russia.

"This district was attacked almost every month this year, but it was the first time it was that close," Belei added.

A series of explosions was first heard in Kyiv at around 1:30 a.m. local time, as air raid sirens sounded across central and eastern Ukraine.

This continued until 2:38 a.m. local time as Russian forces pummeled the city with an unusually large number of ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

Ukraine's Air Force reported several rounds of ballistic missiles headed for Kyiv starting at 1:24 a.m. local time, with monitoring channels recording over 20 ballistic missile strikes in under one hour.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 108 Russian drones, one guided Kh-59/69 missile, and 17 ballistic or Zirkon missiles, according to the Air Force.

Twenty-three missiles and 10 drones struck 10 locations, with drone debris falling in 18 other areas, the Air Force said.

Further drone attacks were reported in Kyiv Oblast at around 10 a.m.

At least nine people have been hospitalized, with three being in serious condition, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported.

Belei's mother, Nadiia, said that one man was injured in a shelter by the blast wave. In the morning following the attack, the ambulance crew continued to carry the injured out of the residential building.

"People are just happy to be alive," Nadiia said, as around her, locals swept broken glass from the ground amid several completely burnt-out cars.

Another resident, Olha, said it was not the first time the blast wave shattered her windows.

"We'll fit new windows. The main thing is that everyone's safe," Olha said.

Damage in Kyiv

In the Dniprovskyi district, a fire broke out in a dormitory building due to fallen debris, and smoke has been reported near a shopping center, Klitschko reported.

"In the Desnyanskyi district, a strike hit the grounds of a commercial property. Vehicle fires have also been reported," he said, adding that a warehouse has also been set ablaze.

Fires broke out on the roof of a supermarket and a nearby residential building as a result of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv's Solomyanskyi district.

Debris fell near a nine-story building at another location in the district, shattering windows in the complex, Klitschko said, adding that one person was rescued from the second floor.

Four people have been rescued from a burning five-story residential building in the Solomianskyi district, Klitschko said.

"In the Shevchenkivskyi district, the three-story wing of an administrative building is on fire as a result of falling debris. More than 10 parked cars have also been damaged," Klitschko said, adding that windows have been shattered in a nearby residential building and fires have been reported in nearby structures.

Authorities have also received reports of a strike on a residential building in the city's Sviatoshynskyi district, he said.

Several fires broke out at warehouse buildings and a logistics facility in Kyiv Oblast near the suburb of Bucha, the State Emergency Service said, reporting two injuries in the region.

The Kyiv metro's Lukianivska station is temporarily closed due to damage at an above-ground entrance caused by an explosion, authorities said.

At an open-air market near the Lukianivska station, vendors arrived first thing in the morning to check on their stalls, despite the overnight attack. At around 8 a.m., the first shoppers arrived at the market to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy products.

Maia Lagovska, a market trader, travels every day from the neighboring Zhytomyr Oblast, a 1–2-hour ride, to the market in Kyiv to sell her dairy products.

As early as 8 a.m., people were buying her cottage cheese bake, and she was wondering if her regular customers would arrive, since the nearby Lukianivska metro station had been severely damaged and its underground passageway was completely blocked after the missile strike.

"We have to go to work in Kyiv regardless. You know, I'm not scared anymore (of the Russian attacks) as everything has already been taken from me, the war took my child," Lagovska said with tears in her eyes.

She said that her 34-year-old son went missing in action six months ago. She does not know for certain whether he is alive or not, but in the hope that he is being held in Russian captivity, Lagovska continues to work on his behalf.

"And he is my only son. So I have to work and hope."

One of the stallholders, who was selling berries, told the Kyiv Independent that a market security guard had been injured in the attack because he did not have enough time to take shelter after the air raid alert was issued and before the explosions. Russian ballistic missiles can reach Kyiv in just a few minutes.

Russian attacks in recent weeks

Russia regularly conducts fatal strikes on civilian infrastructure in cities across Ukraine as it continues to wage its war.

In an overnight attack just days earlier on July 16, Russia slammed Ukraine's capital with ballistic missiles, killing at least two people and injuring six others.

Several mass Russian attacks targeted Kyiv in recent weeks as Ukraine faces a shortage of Patriot air defense missiles needed to intercept ballistic missiles.

On July 8, four people were killed, and 15 others were injured after Russia launched drones and ballistic missiles against Kyiv for the third time within days.

Overnight on July 6, Russia launched waves of missiles and drones toward Kyiv, killing at least 26 people and injuring dozens more, including seven children, hours after Zelensky warned of a large-scale attack targeting the capital.

Another 31 people were killed, and at least 102 were injured after Russian missiles and strike drones pummeled Kyiv overnight on July 2.

"Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now. Interceptors are needed every day, and I am grateful to everyone who takes our agreements seriously and ensures the delivery of anti-ballistic capabilities," Zelensky said after the July 19 strike.

"Right now, these packages are literally saving lives during every massive Russian attack."

"We urge appropriate and strong responses. We need devastating pressure on Moscow to end this terror," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

"There can be no pauses in increasing sanctions and isolation of Russia. The 21st EU package must be unblocked now."