Russian attack on Ukrainian capital leaves 10 dead, Moscow’s war losses exceed 2 million: Details | Today’s news
On the night of July 5-6, Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles aimed at the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The attacks killed at least 10 people, authorities said, adding that the death toll could rise.
Citing Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, AFP said: “Nine dead and 46 injured as a result of the Russian attack (including five injured children) have now been confirmed.” He added: “Unfortunately, this is not the final number. Rescue operations are still ongoing.”
Read also | Russia launched its largest ever drone and rocket fire on Kiev, killing at least 27 people
zHere’s what we know about the latest attack
The attack came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi warned that another large-scale attack was likely. In a post on X, he wrote: “This is typical for Putin: right after American Independence Day and before the NATO summit in Ankara.”
The attack, which was still ongoing in the early hours of Monday, included ballistic and cruise missiles along with drones, the AP reported, adding that explosions were heard throughout the city as civilians sought shelter in subway stations.
Several residential buildings were targeted in the latest attack, with many trapped in damaged multi-storey apartment blocks, while several cars were torched on the city’s streets, CNN reported.
The attack comes just days after a combined Russian attack killed at least 31 people in the Ukrainian capital last week. After the attack, Ukraine’s president again called on Western allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses, notably by supplying more Patriot missiles. He added that the delay in resupply only encourages Russia to continue the four-year war.
Read also | Putin admits Russia is facing a “difficult period” amid escalating Ukrainian strikes
The latest attack comes as the war’s human toll continues to rise.
Russia-Ukraine war casualties exceed two million: Report
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report last week suggesting that Moscow’s decision to launch a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 cost the country about 450,000 lives, adding that the war’s total death toll exceeded two million.
Moscow suffered a total of 1.4 million casualties on the battlefields, including soldiers killed, wounded and missing, a staggering figure that represents roughly 1 percent of the country’s population, according to the latest CSIS figures.
Additionally, Russian territorial control in Ukraine declined during the spring of 2026, with net losses of about 400 square kilometers during April and May. At the same time, Ukraine has stepped up increasingly effective attacks on Russian military and economic targets by deploying artificial intelligence systems alongside a new approach to air power.
Russian casualty numbers are becoming more of a problem for recruitment in Moscow. In 2026, Russia’s monthly death toll, estimated at 30,000 to 34,000, likely exceeded its monthly recruitment of around 27,000 new troops.
On the other hand, Ukraine is estimated to have suffered between 525,000 and 625,000 casualties, including between 125,000 and 150,000 casualties.
Seth G. Jones and Riley McCabe, authors of the study, said: “Russian deaths in Ukraine are more than four times greater than all American casualties in all wars combined since World War II and more than nine times greater than all Soviet and Russian casualties in all wars combined since World War II.”
They further said that in terms of casualties, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war is becoming much more costly for Moscow than for Kyiv. They noted that the casualty rate in the first half of this year likely increased to nearly eight to one, meaning that for every Ukrainian soldier killed, wounded or missing, there are eight Russian casualties.
