Russia blasts Kyiv with another missile and drone barrage, killing at
least 2
[July 10, 2025]
By VASILISA STEPANENKO
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded Ukraine’s capital with another major
missile and drone attack overnight into Thursday, killing at least two
people and causing fires across Kyiv a day after the heaviest drone
attack so far in the more than three-year war, Ukrainian officials said.
In another tense and sleepless night for Kyiv residents, with many of
them dashing in the dark with children and blankets to the protection of
subway stations, at least 16 people were wounded, according to Tymur
Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration.
The night was punctuated with the chilling whine of approaching drones
that slammed into residential areas, exploded and sent balls of orange
flames into the dark during the 10-hour barrage. Russia fired 397 Shahed
and decoy drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv and
five other regions, authorities said.
“This is a clear escalation of Russian terror: hundreds of Shahed drones
every night, constant missile strikes, massive attacks on Ukrainian
cities,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.
Russia aims to sap Ukrainian morale
Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses with
major attacks that include increasing numbers of decoy drones. The
previous night, it fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones, topping
previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks.
“The continued increase in the size of strike packages is likely
intended to support Russian efforts to degrade Ukrainian morale in the
face of constant Russian aggression,” the Institute for the Study of
War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Wednesday.
In tandem with the bombardments, Russia’s army has started a new drive
to break through parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line,
where short-handed Ukrainian forces are under heavy strain at what could
prove to be a pivotal period of the war.
“At present, the rate of Russian advance is accelerating and Russia’s
summer offensive is likely to put the armed forces of Ukraine under
intense pressure,” Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at military
think tank RUSI, wrote in an assessment published Wednesday.
The pressure has caused alarm among Ukrainian officials, who are
uncertain about continuing vital military aid from the United States and
U.S. President Donald Trump's policy toward Russia.
“Partners need to be faster with investments in weapons production and
technology development,” Zelenskyy said Thursday. “We need to be faster
with sanctions and put pressure on Russia so that it feels the
consequences of its terror.”
Some Ukrainians lose almost everything
In Kyiv, Karyna Holf, 23, was in the living room near the window when
she heard a whistling sound from the incoming weapon. Moments later,
little was left of the room but debris.
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People rest in a metro station, being used as a bomb shelter, during
a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, July 10, 2025.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
“After such a shock, when you know from your own experience what
it’s like to lose everything,” she said. “I don’t even know what
comes next. All I have now is a backpack, a phone, a winter coat —
that’s it. This is my whole life now.”
Holf said she was grateful to have her parents to turn to, but
added, “There are people who have no one at all.”
One Kyiv subway station worker said more than 1,000 people,
including 70 children, took refuge there. One of them was
32-year-old Kyiv resident Alina Kalyna.
“The drone attacks a year ago were one thing, and now they're a
completely different thing. We're exhausted," she said. "I sleep
poorly, I recover poorly, in fact I no longer recover, I am just
somehow on a reserve of energy, of which I have a little left, I
just somehow live and exist,” Kalyna said.
5,000 drones produced a month
The drone barrages are unlikely to let up. Russia is now producing
more and better drones, including some using artificial intelligence
technology, according to the Atlantic Council. Its factories are
producing more than 5,000 drones a month, the Washington-based think
tank said this week.
“For the first few years of the war following (Russia’s) 2022
invasion, Ukraine’s dynamic tech sector and vibrant startup culture
helped keep the country a step ahead of Russia despite the Kremlin’s
far greater resources," the Atlantic Council said of the countries'
drone development. “In recent months, however, it has become
increasingly apparent that the initiative has passed to Moscow.”
Ukraine urgently needs more interceptor drones to take down Russia's
Shaheds as well as Patriot missile systems to counter Russian
missiles.
The U.S. has resumed deliveries of certain weapons, including 155 mm
munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS, two U.S.
officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so
that they could provide details that hadn't been announced publicly.
It’s unclear exactly when the weapons started moving.
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Tara Copp contributed to this report from Washington.
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