Russia launches major missile and drone attack on Kiev/ Ukraine strikes tankers in the Black Sea

2026-07-19 14:27:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russia launches major missile and drone attack on Kiev/ Ukraine strikes tankers

Russia carried out one of the largest ballistic missile attacks on Kiev since the start of its full-scale occupation overnight between Saturday and Sunday, killing one person and wounding 16 others. Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had hit two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea.

"Overnight, Russia carried out one of the largest ballistic missile attacks on Kiev," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the X platform.

Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia fired more than 40 missiles of various types, most of which targeted the capital, along with 120 attack drones.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched a total of 41 missiles and 125 drones overnight, in a combined attack that had Kiev as its main target.

According to the military, air defenses shot down 18 missiles and 108 drones, while 23 missiles and 10 drones hit 20 locations. Debris from the downed missiles and drones fell in 18 other areas.

The attack included 25 Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles, 10 Zircon hypersonic missiles, three Onyx anti-ship missiles, three Kh-59/69 remote-controlled missiles, as well as 125 Shahed-type attack drones and other models, authorities said.

Explosions were heard across Kiev overnight as air defenses scrambled to shoot down incoming missiles.

Ukrainian authorities said the attacks hit six districts of the capital, damaging residential buildings, a shopping and entertainment center, a supermarket and civilian infrastructure.

Zelensky said emergency teams were continuing work at three locations, with nearly 600 rescue workers engaged.

Authorities also reported damage in the Odessa region, while Russian attacks this week also hit several other regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister, Andriy Sybiha, described this wave of attacks as the largest use of ballistic missiles against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022 and called for what he called "destructive pressure" on Moscow to end the attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had struck what it described as military infrastructure, including a logistics center allegedly used to store weapons components, facilities where missile parts were manufactured, a warehouse for drone components in the Kiev region, as well as fuel depots and port infrastructure near Odessa.

These claims cannot be independently verified.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff said its forces struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea and a floating crane in the Sea of ??Azov overnight, saying all three vessels were being used to support Russia's military operations.

The attacks followed a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia the day before, which targeted logistics centers in the Moscow and Tambov regions.

Zelensky said these facilities were used to supply sanctioned components for the production of Russian drones and navigation equipment.

Russian officials said one person was killed in the Kursk region during the Ukrainian attack, while the Russian Health Ministry said 10 people injured in an attack on a logistics center in the Tambov region would be transferred to specialized medical centers in Moscow for treatment./ Rel