Russia Unleashes Record 539-Drone Barrage on Kyiv After Trump-Putin Call

Russia launched the biggest aerial assault of its 2022-present war on Ukraine overnight from 4–5 July, sending 539 attack drones and 11 missiles toward Kyiv and several other regions, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Air-raid sirens sounded for more than eight hours while residents sheltered in metro stations as waves of Iranian-designed Shahed drones buzzed overhead.

Kyiv’s military administration said one person was found dead in the wreckage of a strike site and at least 23 people were injured. The bombardment damaged about 40 apartment blocks, rail infrastructure, five schools and kindergartens, and numerous cars across six of the capital’s ten districts. Poland reported light damage to the consular section of its embassy in central Kyiv.

Ukrainian defences destroyed 478 of the aerial weapons, using a combination of surface-to-air missiles, electronic jamming and mobile fire teams. Even so, debris ignited multiple fires and cut power in parts of the city. Russia’s defence ministry claimed it hit drone factories, an oil refinery and a military airfield; Ukrainian officials did not confirm damage to military targets.

The blitz came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he made “no progress” in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the conflict. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later spoke with Trump and appealed for additional air-defence systems, warning that Russia’s escalating attacks underscore the need for sustained Western support. The overnight strike followed a series of deadly June bombardments, including a 17 June attack that killed 15 people in Kyiv, signalling a sharp intensification of Russia’s long-range campaign against Ukrainian cities.