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In the early hours of July 10, Russian forces launched another large coordinated air assault, deploying a mix of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and kamikaze drones against Ukrainian military and industrial targets. According to the Air Force of Ukraine, the attack, which began in the evening of July 9 and continued past midnight, involved 415 aerial weapons, including 200 Geran-type kamikaze drones launched from multiple directions. The primary focus of the strike was Kyiv, where Russian forces aimed to cripple Ukraine’s military-industrial capacity and disrupt logistics. Ukrainian air defense failed to protect the capital, but inflicted additional damage to civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported allegedly intercepting 178 incoming targets, including 164 drones, eight Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and six Kh-101 cruise missiles. Additionally, electronic warfare systems allegedly intercepted another 204 drones and missiles. Despite these defensive efforts, the Ukrainian military was forced to acknowledge that at least eight locations suffered direct hits, with falling debris causing damage in 23 more. However, footage from across Ukraine revealed heavy damage from dozens of strikes.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed another successful attack, reporting: Last night, the Russian Armed Forces launched a group strike with high-precision long-range weapons and UAVs on enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine in Kiev and the infrastructure of the military airfield. The target of the strike has been achieved. All designated objects are affected.
Kyiv is on fire. Dozens of explosions thundered in the city and its region, including Vasilkiv, Bucha and other settlements full of military facilities.
According to preliminary reports, among the key targets struck in the city was the Artem aerospace plant in Kyiv, a facility linked to missile and drone production, which was struck multiple times. Another critical strike hit the Kuznya na Rybalskomu shipyard (formerly Lenin Forge), where Ukraine has been manufacturing naval drones and light armored vehicles. Fires also broke out near a logistics hub in the capital, identified as a BMW service station, raising suspicions that it may have been repurposed for military supply storage.
On the outskirts, Russian forces targeted the military airfield in Vasylkiv, a crucial hub for NATO-supplied arms transfers. The airfield was set on fire. Reports suggest that the strikes coincided with the arrival of new Western weapon shipments, amplifying their destructive impact.
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Meanwhile, secondary explosions were reported in Chernivtsi, a western city rarely hit in previous attacks, and Lutsk in Volyn region, where strikes had also occurred the previous night. In a notable escalation, Russian forces also struck Dobropillia in the Donetsk region, a key Ukrainian logistics node for the eastern front. These are only few of the targets revealed so far.
While Ukrainian propaganda is trying to blame the Russian military for damage to civilian infrastructure, missiles of the US-made Patriot systems are falling on the heads of civilians. After almost every Russian attack, people are filming their wreckage on the streets of the densely populated areas:
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The attack demonstrated Russia’s evolving tactics, including the use of Iskander-K and Iskander-M ballistic missiles. The sheer volume of incoming drones and missiles suggests that Russia is intensifying its campaign to degrade Ukraine’s defense industry. Geran drones, previously reserved for rear-area strikes, are now being deployed near the front lines, indicating increased production capacity. LINK Kyiv is afraid that Russia could soon deploy over 1,000 drones in a single wave, a concerning prospect for Ukrainian air defenses already stretched thin. LINK
As fires raged in Kyiv, Ukrainian officials scrambled to assess the full extent of the damage. The strikes underscore Moscow’s strategy of attrition, systematically dismantling Ukraine’s ability to sustain its war effort while probing for weaknesses in its air defenses. With President Zelensky absent from Kyiv during the attack—following his tradition to escape from the capital during major bombardments—the psychological toll on civilians and military alike is mounting.
