Russia launched a powerful overnight drone and missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, on Thursday night (July 4), injuring at least 23 people and setting parts of the city on fire. The strikes also damaged railway tracks, buildings, and vehicles, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s Air Force said the air raid warnings in Kyiv lasted for more than eight hours. During that time, Russia fired 539 drones and 11 missiles at different parts of the country. Many of those drones were aimed at Kyiv, which has faced more attacks in recent weeks.

“The main target of the strikes was the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv!” the Air Force said on Telegram.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, 14 of the 23 injured people had to be taken to hospitals. Damage was reported in six out of ten districts of the city, including both sides of the Dnipro River, which runs through the capital.

In the Holosiivskyi district, falling debris from the drones caused a medical building to catch fire. In many other places, windows were blown out and fires broke out, as shown in videos posted online.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, asked people to close their windows because the air was filled with dangerous smoke and chemicals from the fires.

“Russia, a terrorist country, has wreaked havoc,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram. “The Russians bring nothing but terror and murder. That is a fact.”

Videos on social media showed people running for cover, firefighters working in the dark, and buildings badly damaged by the blasts.

The attack also hit Kyiv’s railway system. Ukrzaliznytsia, the state-owned railway company, said on Telegram that many trains were delayed and had to change routes due to the damage.

Ukraine’s Air Force said it was able to destroy 478 of the drones and missiles launched by Russia. Attacks were recorded in eight areas across the country, including nine missiles and 63 drones fired later in the day.

Russian shelling in and around the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine killed five people, Ukrainian officials said. This city has been under attack for many months.

Although both Russia and Ukraine say they don’t target civilians, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died since the war began in February 2022.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Aide Yuri Ushakov said they did not discuss the temporary pause in US weapon shipments to Ukraine during the call.

Talks between the US and Russia to end the war haven’t made much progress recently, and some Republicans are urging Trump to push Putin harder to find a solution.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hopes to speak with Trump about the US weapons situation. “We hope to speak as soon as Friday,” he told reporters in Denmark.

Trump, on his way to Iowa, spoke to the media and said the US is still sending weapons to Ukraine. However, he blamed President Joe Biden for sending too much.

“We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons. But we are giving weapons. And we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't. You know, Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves,” Trump said.

You might also be interested in - Russia becomes first country to officially recognise Taliban government