Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones, injuring at least 11

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv before dawn, wounding at least 11 people, including a child, while Ukrainian forces escalated attacks on Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov. The twin strikes showed how the war is now pressing far beyond the front line, exposing civilians in the capital even as Ukraine targets the fuel and shipping network that helps sustain Russia’s control of occupied Crimea.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the Kyiv attack hit several districts, with explosions and fires reported in Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi and Dniprovskyi. Damage was recorded at a transformer substation, an office building and a non-residential building, and a witness heard powerful blasts before the air alert was announced. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 12 missiles, including six ballistic missiles, and 121 drones, while Ukrainian defenses shot down or electronically suppressed 111 drones and two missiles. The Air Force said direct hits were recorded at 11 locations across the country.

The attack deepened pressure on Kyiv’s air defenses at a moment when the city is short of interceptors, especially Patriot munitions, leaving it more exposed to ballistic missiles. Russian strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region have killed more than 60 people so far in July, underscoring how often the capital now absorbs the most dangerous phase of the air war.

The Sea of Azov attacks moved along a separate but connected front. Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces damaged 21 tankers used to transport oil and petroleum products, along with four tugboats, two cargo ships and a dredging vessel. The military said the ships were being used for Russian military logistics, part of a broader effort to disrupt fuel supplies moving toward occupied Crimea.

Russian officials disputed the scale of the damage. They said one person was killed and only four ships were hit, including a tanker carrying methanol. Yuri Slyusar, the regional governor, said the damage was minor. Even so, the strikes pointed to mounting vulnerability in Russia’s maritime supply lines, a development that matters for Black Sea security well beyond the immediate battlefield.

The campaign against Russia’s so-called shadow fleet has intensified in recent days. Ukrainian drones struck eight Russia-linked tankers on July 7, and 35 vessels were hit over 96 hours, according to the available tally. With Kyiv under fire and Russian shipping under pressure, the war is increasingly being fought through reciprocal strikes on cities, ports and the logistics that tie them together.