A night of terror

After Russia’s deadliest strike on Kyiv in over a year, the city picks up the pieces

Since the start of the summer, Russia has been launching increasingly intense missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The latest strike took place during the night of July 30 into July 31, with five direct missile hits across the city. Two apartment buildings collapsed — one in the Sviatoshynskyi district and another in Solomianskyi.

Thirty-one people were killed, including five children, and 159 others were injured. The youngest victim was a two-year-old girl.

Only once since the start of the full-scale invasion has a single attack in Kyiv claimed more lives — on July 8, 2024, when a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, which included a missile strike on Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, killed 33 people.

Here are scenes from Kyiv in the aftermath of the latest attack.

During the night, missiles struck or debris fell at 27 locations across Kyiv. In many places, fires broke out.

More than 100 buildings were damaged in the attack, including apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, and kindergartens.

Search and rescue operations at the collapse sites continued throughout July 31. Among the survivors was a young woman who fell from the ninth floor.

August 1 was declared a day of mourning in Kyiv for those killed in the attack.