Russia launches major ballistic-missile attack on Ukraine capital Kyiv

One death is reported in what President Zelensky calls “one of the most massive ballistic attacks” on Ukraine’s capital.

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Reuters A firefighting helicopter drops water over the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, 19 July 2026Reuters
The latest Russian strikes hit both residential and non-residential buildings, Kyiv’s mayor said

Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing one person and wounding at least 14, officials say.

A number of areas in the region were hit overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “one of the most massive ballistic attacks on Kyiv” since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian military said air defences had shot down 18 out of 41 missiles. The systems also intercepted 108 drones.

Meanwhile Ukraine has continued its own assault on Russian sites. The governor of the south-western Stavropol region said a drone attack had caused a fire in an industrial park.

The latest strikes on Kyiv involved a range of Russian weapons systems, including Iskander and hypersonic Zircon missiles, as well as 125 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.

On Sunday Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said both residential and non-residential buildings had been damaged in the latest attacks, including a supermarket and a dormitory.

Firefighters have been battling blazes at two warehouses.

In his message of Telegram, Zelensky said in the past week Russia had “used about 1,450 strike drones, more than 1,640 guided bombs and 99 missiles of various types against Ukraine”.

The overnight strikes came after Ukraine sent drones to destroy two warehouses belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, killing eight people and causing major fires.

Watch: Huge warehouse blaze in Moscow region following Ukrainian strikes

Seven deaths and 25 injuries occurred at a facility in the city of Tambov, about 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow. One death and 37 injuries occurred at another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal near the capital.

On Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s operations were in response to “Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities”.

Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. The RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026.

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia’s critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. Earlier this month, Kyiv said nearly 43% of Russia’s oil refining capacity had been “disabled” as a result.

The BBC has not independently verified this figure.

Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

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