20 killed as Russia launches massive missile, drone assault on Ukraine

KYIV, July 02 (AP): Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone assault on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing at least 20 civilians and injuring more than 90 others, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday, as Moscow described the attack as retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.

The bombardment lasted about 11 hours, with repeated explosions rocking the capital overnight. Air raid sirens forced many residents to seek shelter in subway stations while emergency crews worked through the night to rescue people trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Kyiv City Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said the attack damaged about 30 sites across the city, most of them residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said around 20 apartment buildings sustained damage.

In one of the hardest-hit areas, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-storey residential building in the Desnianskyi district, while six floors of another apartment block collapsed in the Darnytskyi district.