KYIV, UKRAINE – Before dawn on Thursday, July 31, 2025, Russia conducted a deadly sequence of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. At least 18 people died, including two children, and more than 150 were hurt. Ukrainian officials in the capital said that there was a lot of damage, which led the city to designate Friday, August 1, 2025, a day of mourning.
In his nightly video message, President Volodymyr Zelensky first said that 14 people had died. However, Ukraine’s national rescue service later changed the number to 18 after more remains were found under the wreckage. Zelensky said that several people were still in the hospital, and the rescue agency said that 16 of the injured were youngsters. This is the most kids hurt in one attack on Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion began roughly three and a half years ago.
Russia Says Attack on Military Targets; Ukraine Calls It “Insidious”
In an earlier post on Telegram, President Zelensky said that Russia had sent more than 300 drones and eight missiles in the attack last night. He said, “Today the world has once again seen Russia’s response to our desire for peace… Therefore, peace without strength is impossible,” along with a video showing smoldering debris and collapsing buildings. He said that as of Thursday morning, people were still stuck under the debris of a partially destroyed apartment complex.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had targeted and hit Ukrainian military airfields and ammunition depots, as well as firms that it said were part of Kyiv’s military-industrial complex. Despite overwhelming evidence and reports from Ukrainian government and international groups, Russia has always denied targeting civilians. Since Moscow invaded in February 2022, thousands of citizens, mostly Ukrainians, have died.
Tymur Tkachenko, commander of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that schools and hospitals were among the facilities that were destroyed in 27 places in the capital. He said that the strike was “very sneaky and planned to overload the air defense system.”
Eyewitness Accounts and Efforts to Save Lives
From about midnight on, explosions shook Kyiv and fires lit up the night sky. Yurii Kravchuk, 62, told Reuters about his scary experience while standing near a destroyed building with a bandage on his head and a blanket around him. He heard the missile warning, but he couldn’t get to a bunker in time. “I woke up my wife, and then there was an explosion. He said, “My daughter went to the hospital.”
The Interior Ministry said that rescue teams worked diligently and were able to save a man who was stuck in rubble after more than three hours of complicated labor, which included cutting through the wall of a nearby flat. The man stayed in touch with emergency authorities the whole time and was rescued alive. Five children were hurt, including a five-month-old baby.
Trump gives an ultimatum, and Ukraine asks for a tribunal.
The violent incident happened while the United States was putting further diplomatic pressure on the situation. US President Donald Trump harshly blasted Russia’s “disgusting” actions against Ukraine while talking to media in the Oval Office. He reiterated his intention to put sanctions on Moscow should no agreement be achieved to resolve the crisis, establishing a definitive deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin: until August 8, 2025, to negotiate a settlement or encounter significant economic repercussions.
Trump said that Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, would go to Russia following his current trip to Israel to continue talks. John Kelly, a high-ranking US ambassador, told the UN Security Council again that the deadline is August 8. He said, “Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and lasting peace.” It’s time to strike a deal.”
Trump had said on Tuesday, July 29, that if Moscow didn’t make any progress toward settling the crisis, Washington will start putting tariffs and other restrictions on Russia “10 days from today.” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in response to the most recent strikes, “This is Putin’s answer to Trump’s deadlines.” The world needs to put a lot of pressure on the tribunal.
Ukraine’s air force said there were five direct missile impacts and 21 drone hits in 12 places. They also said that Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 288 drones and three cruise missiles out of the 309 drones and eight missiles that Russia sent. But official Ukrainian reports say that Iskander-K cruise missiles are harder to stop, with only three out of eight being stopped. This is because they fly very low and quickly from launch areas like Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
This year, there have been three rounds of talks in Istanbul that led to the exchange of prisoners and bodies, but there has been no major progress in lowering the tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.