Russia launches 570-missile-and-drone salvo at Ukraine, largest of the war

Summary

Russia launched its largest single aerial salvo of the Ukraine Russia War overnight July 1-2: 74 missiles and 496 drones, 570 objects in total, aimed primarily at Kyiv over roughly 11 hours. Volodymyr Zelensky had cut short a Dublin state visit after advance intelligence and warned publicly of an imminent "massive attack." Ukraine's air defences intercepted 524 targets; 25 ballistic missiles, including Iskander-M and Kh-101 cruise variants, and 12 attack drones broke through to the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed at least 13 killed and 85 wounded in Kyiv alone; at least 30 locations across the city were struck, with a nine-storey residential building and several high-rises sustaining direct hits. Poland scrambled interceptor jets and Finland temporarily restricted airspace near its eastern border.

Why it matters

The salvo size, 570 objects, surpasses all previous single-night totals and is designed to saturate Patriot, SAMP/T, and NASAMS batteries simultaneously so ballistic missiles can slip through. The use of Zircon hypersonic missiles alongside cheap Shahed decoys stress-tests the layered defence in a way no previous attack has. Interceptor stocks are already strained across the alliance.

What to watch

• NATO allies' emergency interceptor supply response and any Patriot battery redeployment.
• Ukraine's declared retaliatory long-range strike on Russian territory in the coming 48-72 hours.
• Whether the Permanent Representatives meeting at NATO addresses the salvo under Article 4 consultations.
• Russia's defence ministry statement on claimed objectives versus Ukrainian damage reports.