Aid agencies in Ukraine responded urgently on 2 July 2026 to a significant increase in deadly strikes by Russia, including one of the largest attacks on Kyiv to date. According to reports, at least 18 people died in the capital, where densely populated residential areas sustained major damage and several neighborhoods were evacuated.

Matthias Schmale, the UN’s top aid official in Ukraine, stated, “Search and rescue operations are ongoing to save people trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed residential buildings, including a 15-year-old girl and her family.” He also noted that many of Kyiv’s three million residents spent up to 11 hours in bomb shelters or taking cover at home “to the terrifying sounds of war.”

In addition to the fatalities, nearly 90 people were injured, including several children. The city’s mayor described the event as the “most massive attack,” with national media reporting apartment blocks and a hotel set ablaze. Among the injured were several health workers and ambulance drivers after an ambulance station was struck and several vehicles damaged.

Between December 2025 and May 2026, civilian casualties increased by 40 percent compared to the same period the previous year, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The latest attacks on densely populated areas across Ukraine are part of a “continuing deadly pattern.” Meanwhile, in Russia and occupied Ukrainian Crimea, swarm drone attacks attributed in media reports to Ukrainian forces have disrupted oil facilities and closed Moscow airports.

Across Ukraine, aid organizations are providing emergency support to nearly one million people affected by the strikes. UNICEF Chief of Communications and Advocacy Toby Fricker, after visiting affected sites, described severe damage to residential buildings and a nearby kindergarten.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attacks, emphasizing that “any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately.” He also highlighted that spending nights in shelters during the war is having a serious impact on children’s well-being.

Sources