Russian missiles hit Kyiv as wider Ukraine strikes kill two more

Kyiv,UPDATED: Jul 26, 2026 20:20 IST

Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early on Sunday, setting off fires and wounding at least three civilians, while attacks on other parts of Ukraine later in the day killed at least two people, local officials said. The latest strikes came two days after a major Russian attack near Kyiv killed at least 10 people and wounded around 100 others.

The attacks unfolded amid an intensified exchange between the two sides. Ukraine's recent drone strikes inside Russia have stalled Russian advances and put pressure on President Vladimir Putin, while Kremlin-installed officials in occupied eastern Ukraine said a Ukrainian drone strike killed four civilians in Horlivka. Russia's defence ministry also said its forces shot down 133 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia, the Black Sea and Crimea.

In Kyiv, blasts were heard in the early hours of Sunday, and falling debris sparked a fire in a tower block near the historic centre, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He added that debris also set fire to buildings, cars and car parks elsewhere in the capital. Three people were wounded, and one of them needed hospital treatment.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said in his Friday evening address that intelligence assessments showed Russia was preparing missiles for a large attack, with indications that it could happen within 48 hours. On Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said its latest strike on Kyiv had hit sites linked to drone production.

Elsewhere, a drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the east, killed one person and wounded at least six others, including two children, mayor Igor Terekhov said. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian glide bomb killed one man and wounded at least six others, according to mayor Ivan Fedorov. Both cities have frequently come under Russian attack, and Zaporizhzhia, just over 20 kilometres from the front line, has faced heavy bombardment in recent months.

In Russian-occupied Horlivka, Ivan Prikhodko, the city's Russian-appointed mayor, said the city had been under fire since early Sunday and that four civilians were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike. Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Sunday that "Ukraine's position is stronger than ever since the war began". After a call with his Ukrainian counterpart, and in an apparent reference to Kyiv's recent drone campaign against major Russian energy sites and military supplies, Stubb wrote on X that "continued support from (Ukraine's) partners is critical to keep up the momentum."

Romanian President Nicu Or Dan said on Sunday that his country's forces had shot down another drone that breached Romanian airspace, the third such incident in three days, calling it "inadmissible and intolerable". He wrote on X: "A new drone was shot down this morning, at 10:13, by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, over the territorial waters of Romania, in the Sulina–Chilia area." He said a drone that crossed from Ukraine into Romania on Saturday was shot down in an "unpopulated area" near the border, and another was brought down on Friday near Padina, northeast of Bucharest. Dan said a formal probe into Friday's incident found the weapon to be a Shahed-type drone, commonly used by Moscow to strike Ukraine.

The fresh attacks in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, the reported drone strike in Horlivka, and the latest airspace breach in Romania underscored the continuing cycle of strikes linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the widening strain it is placing on the region.

With PTI Inputs

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