Kyiv attacks death toll rises to 17 as Russia vows to 'increase pressure' on Ukrainian capital — Europe live updates

2 July 2026 | Kyiv, Berlin, Dublin — Updated 12:30 GMT

The death toll following a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv has risen to 17, Ukraine's emergency services said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, with "most of them ordinary residential buildings."

Germany condemned Russia's major strike on Kyiv in the strongest possible terms and vowed to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. "Once again, Putin's Russia has subjected the Ukrainian capital and large swathes of the country to massive drone and missile attacks," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, German prosecutors alleged that Ukrainian state authorities were behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, a move that could complicate close relations between Kyiv and its key military backer Berlin.

In Dublin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hopes not to wait too long for the results of an Irish government investigation into alumina exports to Russia thought to be feeding the Kremlin's war machine.

Welcome to the latest Europe live updates — where the war in Ukraine continues to dominate the continent's agenda.

Kyiv Attacks Death Toll Rises to 17 as Russia Launches Massive Barrage

The death toll following a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv has risen to 17, Ukraine's emergency services said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, with "most of them ordinary residential buildings."

Following the overnight attack, damage was recorded in 30 locations across Kyiv, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. Some 20 residential buildings were damaged, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.

Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones during the attack, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defence units downed most of those but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its "massive attack" on Kyiv using long-range, high-precision air-, land-, sea-launched weapons and drones hit military and energy facilities, as well as airports and other locations. It said it was a retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russia.

Germany Condemns Russian Strikes, Vows to Continue Supporting Ukraine

Germany's foreign ministry condemned Russia's major strike on Kyiv in the strongest possible terms and vowed to continue supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.

In a statement, it said: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the massive Russian airstrikes on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine last night. Once again, Putin's Russia has subjected the Ukrainian capital and large swathes of the country to massive drone and missile attacks."

"People were killed or injured in their sleep, homes were destroyed, and civilian infrastructure, such as a medical facility, was severely damaged. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. The shocking images of destruction from last night demonstrate once again that Russia is continuing its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine with unabated brutality."

Germany Alleges Nord Stream Sabotage Was Carried 'On the Orders of State Authorities in Ukraine'

German prosecutors alleged that Ukrainian state authorities were behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia with Europe in a move which could complicate close relations between Kyiv and its key military backer Berlin.

In a statement detailing the charges brought against one suspect, German prosecutors said that he and other members of the Ukrainian military had acted "on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine."

The suspect in question was arrested in summer 2025 in Italy and extradited to Germany the following November, and was named at the time as Serhii K. He has denied involvement.

Zelenskyy Calls for Swift Irish Probe into Alumina Exports to Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes not to wait too long for the results of an Irish government investigation into alumina exports to Russia thought to be feeding the Kremlin's war machine.

Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday he said he was grateful that the Irish government was conducting an investigation into the issue. "We very much hope for a positive result and we do hope that we will not have to wait for it for months," he told reporters.

Investigative journalists, including at the Guardian, revealed that the Aughinish Alumina refinery on the west coast of Ireland is part of an international supply chain that appears to be feeding the Russian war machine.

The smelter, which is owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal, is at the heart of a booming, and legal, trade in alumina, which is derived from bauxite and serves as the base ingredient for aluminium. Ireland exported $376m alumina to Russia in 2024, a 50% increase on 2022.

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Ireland's prime minister, Micheál Martin, said the two leaders had a "good discussion on that specific issue" and that Ireland was "coming to the completion of an investigation so we get the full facts." He continued: "We do not want to be in a position where material emanating from a plant in Ireland goes to support the Russian war machine."

At a ceremony to mark the start of Ireland's six-month EU presidency, Zelenskyy was more blunt about unnamed European companies. "Unfortunately there are companies in Europe that are owned or effectively controlled by Russia and its sanctioned oligarchs. They keep supplying the aggressor with essential materials even now."

The Ukrainian president also warned he had "very unpleasant information" about Russian preparations for another massive attack. Hours later Russia launched a large-scale bombardment of Kyiv that killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more.

Russia 'Mounted Drone Surveillance of European Nuclear Sites Over 18 Months'

The Kremlin orchestrated a concerted surveillance campaign using drones launched from shadow fleet vessels over an 18-month period which targeted nuclear sites in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, researchers have said.

Analysis by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of 144 incidents in more than a dozen countries beginning in late 2024 concluded Russian intelligence had operated with "substantial impunity", leaving authorities across Europe flat-footed and confused.

Drones were repeatedly spotted over airbases and airports, yet none were captured or shot down by western militaries, exposing a strategic failure in Nato air defences that the thinktank said had been quietly acknowledged across Europe.

RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, a UK base that was being prepared to house US nuclear weapons, and France's nuclear submarine base at Île Longue in Brittany were among the sites targeted by unarmed drones believed to have been launched at sea.

European governments have been reluctant to accuse Russia of being behind the incidents, but Charlie Edwards, a senior IISS fellow, said "every government we spoke to said they would welcome the report being published."

Merz Presents Coalition Reform Package in Bid to Revive Economy Amid AfD Challenge

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has laid out his plans for wide-ranging reforms in a bid to revive the country's struggling economy and counter the rise of the far-right ahead of key land elections this autumn.

The package of reforms includes income tax cuts of a volume of €10bn to be financed by increased taxes on the wealthy, as well as changes to the pension system that will eventually see the retirement age rise to 67.

The tax relief will be mainly funded by raising the top rate of tax to 47% from 45% for the highest earners with an annual income of €280,000 or more.

The reforms also include an action plan against benefit fraud and abolishing workers' ability to obtain sicknotes by phone, as well as a goal to cut staffing by 8% in federal ministries through digitisation.

Merz's CDU/CSU trails nationally in all polls behind the far-right Alternative für Deutschland by three to five percentage points, with junior coalition partner SPD in fourth place, behind the Greens.

In September, closely watched local elections will be held in Saxony-Anhalt, which could see AfD come to power for the first time, with the party consistently polling at above 40%.

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