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

Source: Meduza

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.


An apartment building that collapsed after being hit by a Russian missile

Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images

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

Thomas Peter / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

Patryk Jaracz / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images

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

Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images

Thomas Peter / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

Search and rescue operations at the site of the collapsed residential building

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

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.

Maxym Marusenko / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Search and rescue operations at the site of a collapsed residential building

Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images

Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

Hundreds of people were left without homes

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

Oleksii Samsonov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images

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

Svet Jacqueline / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA

Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA / Scanpix / LETA