Russian night attack thwarted by Ukrainian forces as they manage to shoot down 44 drones
On July 31, 2022, Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was hit by a large-scale drone and missile attack, marking one of the deadliest strikes on the city since the invasion began. The attack involved a barrage of 309 Shahed drones and eight Iskander-K cruise missiles, launched by Russian forces.
The attack resulted in at least 31 deaths and 159 injuries. Among the casualties were civilians, police officers, and even children, with the youngest victim being a five-month-old girl. The attack caused severe structural damage in Kyiv, including the partial collapse of a nine-story apartment building in the Sviatoshynskyi district. Rescue teams worked tirelessly through the night to find and recover victims from the rubble.
Multiple fires broke out across the city, with buildings suffering shattered windows and structural damage. At least one residential building partially collapsed. The explosions were widespread, with multiple blasts occurring in under 30 seconds across Kyiv, significantly impacting civilian areas and infrastructure.
Ukrainian forces deployed intensive air defense systems to counter the attack. They successfully intercepted 288 drones and three missiles, and employed electronic jamming against many drones, reducing the scale of damage and casualties. However, five missiles and 21 drones still managed to strike targets in the city, causing the noted damage and loss of life.
Defensive measures were effective in mitigating the impact of the attack, but the city of Kyiv still suffered significant damage. The attack marked an escalation in Russian strikes targeting the capital, aiming to inflict maximum damage despite Ukrainian defensive efforts.
Assistance and rescue efforts continue in the areas affected by the attack, with more than 159 firefighters and additional equipment involved in the response to the fires and aftermath of the attack in the Sviatoshynskyi district, Kyiv. No new reports of casualties outside the Sviatoshynskyi district in Kyiv have been made since the earlier report of no casualties in the Kyiv region.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has not yet reported any changes in the number of dead due to Russian attacks carried out between Wednesday night and Thursday morning beyond the increase in the death toll in the Sviatoshynskyi district, Kyiv. The attack resulted in 28 'drone' impacts in nine points along the front, in the territories of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and the Kyiv region.
The attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missiles, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems, and mobile artillery groups. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that the number of dead in the Russian attacks carried out between Wednesday night and Thursday morning has risen to 28. Assistance and rescue efforts continue in the areas affected by the attack.
- Today's general news is dominated by the increasing war-and-conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, as evidenced by the large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv on July 31, 2022.
- The world politics landscape is uncertain due to the escalating crime-and-justice issues, including the continued attacks seen in the ongoing war-and-conflicts, particularly the recent attack in Kyiv.
