Kyiv (Ukraine), 02 July (H.S.): Powerful explosions shook Kyiv and several other parts of Ukraine early Thursday, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a major overnight assault. According to Ukrainian officials, multiple fires broke out across the capital after ballistic missiles and drones struck residential areas, killing at least two people.

According to reports by The Kyiv Independent, Kyiv Post and CNN, there was relatively little activity during the first part of the night between Wednesday and Thursday. However, before dawn, a series of powerful explosions was heard across Kyiv. City authorities said Russia launched a combined attack using ballistic missiles and drones, damaging residential buildings and sparking multiple fires. At least two people were killed in the strikes.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 11 people were hospitalized following the attacks. He added that emergency responders were working at the site of a collapsed nine-storey residential building to rescue people trapped beneath the rubble. Medical personnel were also injured after an ambulance substation was struck.

Head of the Kyiv City Military Administration Tymur Tkachenko said two people were killed and at least 16 others injured in the attack. Several residential buildings were destroyed, a hotel in central Kyiv sustained damage, and high-rise buildings were engulfed in flames. By 5 a.m. local time, officials had recorded damage at at least 28 locations across the city.

Air raid alerts were issued across several regions of Ukraine. Explosions were also reported in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while blasts were heard in Sumy and Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine. Tkachenko warned that further attacks could follow in the coming days.

Shortly before the explosions began, the Ukrainian Air Force warned that groups of Russian drones were heading toward Kyiv and other cities, including Mykolaiv, Konotop and Kherson.

At around 12:45 a.m. local time, Tkachenko issued a warning about the threat of a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force released a similar alert approximately 30 minutes later. Open-source monitoring channels reported that Russia had deployed 10 strategic bomber aircraft. Around 2 a.m., powerful explosions echoed across Kyiv and other cities. Local authorities said residential neighbourhoods across the capital were targeted, leaving civilians and emergency responders among the casualties.

Significant damage was reported in Kyiv's busy central district, home to residential areas as well as museums and universities. Tkachenko said an apartment building in the Shevchenkivskyi district was destroyed. Fires also broke out at two locations near residential buildings in the Pecherskyi district, while a blaze erupted near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district. Another high-rise residential building was damaged in the Holosiivskyi district.

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky urged Ukrainians to remain vigilant and pay close attention to air raid sirens, citing intelligence reports that Russia was preparing a large-scale attack. Writing on X, he said, Tonight, we are facing exactly this threat. Officials said air raid sirens began sounding across Kyiv from around 8 p.m. local time, prompting residents to seek shelter in metro stations.

Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone campaign against Russia over the past month, targeting energy infrastructure in what Zelensky has described as a key strategy to pressure Moscow into ending the war. Last week, Russian authorities claimed they intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones across 12 regions in a single night. In June, a Russian strike in central Kyiv also caused a fire at the UNESCO-listed Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery complex.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar