Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones at Ukraine in the early hours of July 30, killing and wounding civilians in the capital, Kyiv, as well as the western city of Lviv, the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, and the eastern Poltava region, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses shot down or jammed 55 of the missiles and 265 of the drones, downing 54 of 61 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles but only one of nine Iskander-M, S-400, or KN-23 ballistic missiles, and none of four Tsirkon or Onyx anti-ship missiles, according to Suspilne.
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv starting around 1:18 a.m. local time, with fires breaking out in two of the capital’s districts after falling missile debris landed on non-residential sites, according to the Kyiv Independent. President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned the previous evening on X that “there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight,” and residents were seen sheltering overnight in a Kyiv metro station, the outlet reported.
An air raid alert sounded in Lviv Oblast at 4:12 a.m. due to the threat of cruise missiles, and explosions followed around 4:40 a.m., damaging two residential high-rises in the city, according to the head of the regional military administration and Lviv’s mayor, as cited by TSN.ua. The mayor said “a rocket got stuck in the building,” and rescue crews worked through the morning to clear residents from the damaged buildings, the outlet reported.
The deadliest single strike hit a house in Kryvyi Rih, where a Russian missile struck one large family’s home, and a separate drone strike hit a target in Poltava Oblast, according to Censor.net. Rescue crews continued clearing rubble in both cities through the morning as the full toll was still being confirmed.
