Russian attacks on Ukraine kill seven as NATO leaders meet in Ankara
By AFP
and
Reuters
Published On 7 Jul 2026
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Updated: 8 Jul 2026 10:14 AM (GMT)
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged deadly overnight air attacks, with Russia firing dozens of drones and missiles at its neighbour, including the capital Kyiv, and Ukraine hitting numerous Russian industrial sites, according to local authorities.
Russia’s attacks killed at least seven people in the regions of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
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While Ukraine’s defences intercepted more than 80 percent of the 169 drones used in the Russian assault, they were unable to down any of the five ballistic missiles, air force data showed.
A woman was killed and two people were wounded in Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv, said the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko. The attack was the third time Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital in less than a week.
A mother and daughter were killed and two others were wounded in the southern region of Mykolaiv when Russian forces attacked with guided aerial bombs, regional military head Vitaliy Kim said.
Two people were killed and 20 injured in a strike on a residential building in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, while another two people were killed in attacks in the frontline Kherson region in the south, local officials said.
Ukraine also mounted its own strikes deep into Russia – attacks Kyiv calls fair retribution for the nightly barrages of its cities.
In Russia, the governor of Saratov region said one person was killed and civilian industrial sites were damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.
In the Volga riverside region of Tatarstan, local media cited the governor’s press service as saying that Ukrainian drones had inflicted casualties and caused damage to targets in the city of Nizhnekamsk, which is home to a major oil refinery.
The exchange of aerial attacks follows an earlier large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv on Monday, which killed at least 14 people and damaged more than a dozen buildings.
Russia and Ukraine have recently expanded their use of long-range weapons, including missiles, in an escalation of Moscow’s four-year war.
Ukraine has focused its attacks on energy facilities as it seeks to disrupt the Russian economy.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s drone forces commander Robert Brovdi said Ukrainian drones had hit nine Russian more “shadow fleet” tankers in the Sea of Azov, bringing the total number of tankers hit over the past 72 hours to 19.
The Sea of Azov is a key supply route for Russian forces in Crimea and other occupied parts of southern Ukraine.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 – in a move that has been unrecognised internationally – eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has not publicly commented on this week’s attacks on Ukraine, which also included strikes on electrical substations, radar systems and missile installations.
Attacks amid NATO summit
The latest exchange of fire between Russia and Ukraine comes amid NATO’s annual summit, which began on Tuesday. The military alliance’s leaders have gathered in Turkiye’s capital, Ankara, for the two-day conference, where defence spending and Russia’s war on Ukraine are under discussion.
NATO is expected to pledge further military support for Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the alliance to step up aid for the country’s air defences following the deadly escalation of Russian attacks on Kyiv.
Zelenskyy, who has renewed his call for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, wrote on social media on Tuesday that he had signed new agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark in Ankara.
The deals create “new opportunities for joint production, the development of innovative defense technologies, systematic exchange of expertise, and the export of Ukrainian battlefield-proven solutions”, he said.
Further agreements are expected with Germany, Norway, Finland and Canada.
United States President Donald Trump is also expected to meet Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday, having spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the NATO gathering.
Asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump said he hoped it would be settled “soon”.
“I think they both want to make a deal,” Trump said.
“It’s too bad it took so long, but I think something’s going to come out.”