Russia launches record 550 drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv in night-time raid
Vladimir Putin
of 'publicly humiliating' Donald Trump after
Russia
launched a record number of
drones and ballistic missiles
on Kyiv, hours after the two leaders spoke by phone.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy
described the seven-hour raid as a 'deliberate act of terror' which 'immediately followed the call between Washington and Moscow'. It was one of the most severe assaults of the war and a 'clear interpretation of how Moscow interprets diplomacy', he added.
The sustained and co-ordinated night-time attack involved more than 550 Russian drones and ballistic missiles – a record. Families in Kyiv spent the night in metro stations, bedding down on the platform, as well as in basements and underground parking garages.
Drones could be heard circling the skies above the Ukrainian capital, with a distinctive moped-like whine, one after another. There were numerous booms and explosions, and the staccato rattle of machine-gun fire, as Ukrainian air defence units tried to shoot the missiles down.
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The air raid ended at 9am local time. A thick pall of choking black smoke hung over the city. Residents were advised to keep their windows shut because of numerous fires. According to officials, at least 23 people were injured, 14 of whom were taken to hospital. Blasts damaged apartment blocks, cars and warehouses.
There was also disruption to the normally reliable rail network. Passengers arriving at Kyiv's main station on Thursday night had to file out through underground tunnels, with the main concourse closed and many services on Friday delayed.
Speaking after his conversation with Mr Putin on Thursday, Mr Trump said they had discussed the war 'in a pretty long call'. But he said there was no movement towards a ceasefire, with Mr Putin reportedly insisting on Ukraine's capitulation. 'I'm not happy about that. No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all,' Mr Trump said.
Thursday's grim attack came after the Pentagon this week halted the delivery of some weapons shipments to Ukraine, including replacement interceptor missiles used in Patriot air defence systems. Ukrainians have said the decision leaves their cities defenceless, emboldens Russia and facilitates deadly attacks.
The Ukrainian government has been careful not to criticise the US president directly. But it wants Washington and other allies including the UK and EU to put further pressure on Moscow to stop the war and its relentless aerial attacks on civilians.
Residents console each other after a Russian air strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, July 4th, 2025. Photograph: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg
'There must be consequences – not eventually, but now,' Mr Zelenskiy said. He stressed: 'Strengthened sanctions. Immediate delivery of air defence systems. A shift from caution to clarity. The Kremlin is watching the world's reaction. So are others.'
Mr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he hoped to speak with Mr Trump on Friday about the supply of US weapons, amid few expectations of a change in White House policy.
One senior Ukrainian official suggested that Mr Trump's apparent strategy of appeasing Mr Putin was not working.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Mr Zelenskiy's office, said any phone call with Mr Putin 'inevitably results in massive demonstrative shelling of Kyiv – with enormous destruction'.
Mr Putin treated these conversations as 'an opportunity to publicly humiliate the other side's reputation'. It was a 'way to demonstrate his [Putin's] boundlessness and willingness to kill ever more brazenly,' Mr Podolyak posted on social media.
With supplies of anti-aircraft missiles running low, Ukraine is increasingly using home-produced drones to take down incoming Shahed missiles.
But it is struggling to cope with the overwhelming numbers flooding its skies. According to the Ukrainian air force, 72 out of 550 drones and missiles hit their targets in Thursday's massive raid.
The attack was the latest in a series of Russian air strikes on Kyiv that have intensified in recent weeks and included some of the deadliest assaults of the war on the city of three million people.
Ukraine, meanwhile, launched a drone attack on the city of Sergiyev Posad near Moscow, injuring at least one person and with explosions reported in at least four locations, the head of the district Oksana Yerokhanova said early on Friday.
'I ask everyone to remain calm, not to approach the windows, not to photograph the work of the air defence,' Yerokhanova wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Another drone attack on the southern Russian region of Rostov region killed at least one woman, the acting governor of the region, Yury Slyusar, said on Telegram early on Friday. – Guardian
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