At least 17 killed in Russia-Ukraine long-range strikes; missile hits near Kyiv

Source: AFP

At least 17 people were killed on Friday (July 24, 2026) in Russian and Ukrainian long-range strikes — including attacks just outside Kyiv and hundreds of miles east of Moscow — as both sides intensify their offensives amid a diplomatic deadlock.

Strikes on Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that a Russian missile strike outside the Ukrainian capital killed six people. He stated that a rescue operation is ongoing and that "dozens of people reported to be injured."

Mr. Zelenskyy also said Russian aerial bombing killed five people in the frontline city of Sloviansk.

Ukrainian Strikes on Russia

On the same day, Kyiv launched a wave of long-range drone and missile attacks on Russian territory.

• Moscow reported that an attack on a factory in the city of Kirov — more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the front line — killed six people.
• Ukraine also struck warehouses belonging to Russian online retail giant Wildberries outside Saint Petersburg, targeting Russia's equivalent of Amazon for the third time this week.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Kyiv hit a "key military enterprise" in Russia's Kirov, describing it as a facility that "supplies components for the occupier's aircraft and missile systems, which are used in the massive attacks against our cities."

Kirov Governor Alexander Sokolov confirmed that Kyiv targeted a "factory" and that the six victims were killed on the spot. Another 26 people were wounded.

While Kyiv has previously struck Russian towns as far as the Urals and Siberia, those attacks have mostly damaged energy infrastructure, with fatalities inside Russia remaining rare.

Civilian Toll and War Context

The strikes come as the four-and-a-half-year war has seen more civilians dying this summer than in any period since the first months of Russia's invasion, according to the United Nations.

Saint Petersburg: 'Frightened' Residents

In Saint Petersburg — Russian leader Vladimir Putin's hometown — the attacks on Wildberries warehouses sent smoke pouring over the historic city.

Mr. Zelenskyy has accused Wildberries, Russia's most popular online retailer, of storing drone components and assisting the Russian army. He hailed Friday's strikes as "successful."

Ukraine has said its retaliatory strikes on Russia aim to weaken Moscow's war effort and force the Kremlin to negotiate an end to the fighting. Such attacks on Russia's main cities were unthinkable when the Kremlin launched its offensive in 2022, believing in a quick victory and promising Russians that life back home would not be affected.

In Saint Petersburg, 50-year-old teacher Anna said the strikes only "make people angry."

"This Ukrainian tactic is not leading to peace, even in my entourage, people are getting angrier and say that if that's their way, then we should continue (the offensive)," she said.

Ukrainian cities have been under constant Russian attacks since 2022, with civilians dying across Ukraine every day during the war. None of that is visible in Russian media, as Moscow has introduced massive censorship during the war and banned criticism of its military campaign.

Svetlana, a 30-year-old cashier in Saint Petersburg, said she was "frightened" and that "everything is getting worse." She blamed Ukraine: "Of course I want peace, but you see what they (Ukrainians) are doing."

Russia occupies swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, with Moscow maintaining its maximalist demands to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine.

Russian Aerial Bombs

Hours after Ukraine's attack on Saint Petersburg, AFP reporters in Kyiv heard blasts over the city after authorities warned of incoming Russian missiles — a rare attempted daytime strike on the Ukrainian capital. Russia has in recent weeks launched several waves of deadly ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv.

In Ukraine's Sloviansk, local governor Vadym Filashkin said Moscow had "dropped two aerial bombs on the city." The city, which had a pre-war population of approximately 105,000, lies close to the front line and remains in Moscow's sights.