Russia launches massive attack on Kyiv

**Celia Hatton** (0:00)
This is The Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton, and at 15 Hours GMT on Thursday, the 2nd of July, these are our main stories. Kyiv is hit by an 11-hour Russian bombardment. Our correspondent has been at one of the sites where they're hunting for survivors. A BBC investigation finds a convicted people smuggler working in the UK. Nelson Mandela's granddaughter speaks to the BBC about South Africa's anti-migrant protests.
Also in this podcast.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:33)
I knew that she was gonna get married in New York, but I had no idea where. So I can't believe it, I'm actually shook, and I'm so excited that it has to happen.

**Celia Hatton** (0:42)
Is Taylor Swift really getting married inside a New York City arena?
We start in the capital of Ukraine, where the mayor says every district was hit in a massive attack by Russia. In an 11-hour assault, a barrage of Russian missiles and drones hit Kyiv through the night. Officials say at least 20 people were killed, including children. The Russians have been accused of deliberately targeting residential areas. Russia's Defense Ministry says it hit key military plants in the capital. Yuri Sak is a former advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Defense.

**Yuri Sak** (1:25)
It was one of the largest, if not the largest attacks carried out by Russia on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Russia has launched almost 500 drones.
There was also missiles launched at Ukraine, and unfortunately, 25 of these ballistic missiles have hit the targets. And of course, targets, as it always happens, are civilian apartment blocks, and that's why the number of casualties is so high. Tomorrow is announced already as the day of mourning in Kyiv for those who were killed by today's attack.

**Celia Hatton** (1:57)
There were also Russian attacks on other cities in central and eastern Ukraine. The country's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, has appealed to Ukraine's Western allies to send more air defense supplies, calling them an absolute and critical priority. The Kremlin has said it will continue to increase pressure on the Kyiv regime in order to achieve its goals.
Our Eastern Europe correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, is in Kyiv.

**Sarah Rainsford** (2:22)
I'm standing now at the site of where one, if not two, according to locals, of those Russian missiles hit. And you just mentioned Russia saying it's been targeting military sites and military infrastructure here. Well, that's possible. That's what they were targeting. But it's not the only thing that they've hit here. This is a big block of flats, nine floors high. And the whole end section of it has been completely destroyed, smashed to smithereens. There are big cranes here and big diggers trying to pick through the giant slabs of concrete because officials here are saying at least six people are still missing. And I can see some very upset looking people sitting on the bench near me here, a man in tears, and I suspect that some of their relatives are among the missing.

**Celia Hatton** (3:08)
It's been described as the first large scale attack in two weeks. Ukraine had been expecting this, had warned about intelligence that it was coming. Did that make it any easier for civilians to be able to get to safety when the assault started?

**Sarah Rainsford** (3:24)
It means that people expect a very bad night, and it means that many people will head in advance to the metro, to the underground, to take shelter or they'll go into their bunkers. They'll try to keep safe because every time Russia loads up its bomber planes, Ukraine can see that happening and it anticipates the massive attacks like this. But this isn't the first one. As you said, there was one two weeks ago. They happen every two or three weeks. But in terms of the intensity, in terms of the scale, I think it is fair to say that they are increasing. And it's also important to note that I think the reason they're having such a devastating impact is that Ukraine is struggling somewhat to intercept those missiles because of a shortage of ballistic missiles to intercept those air defense missiles to intercept them. So it is extremely difficult. The scale of the attack is huge. I mean, I can see the consequences right in front of me now. And I can see the ruined lives, the ruined homes, and the people who are here yet again picking up the pieces after another attack.

**Celia Hatton** (4:23)
Sarah, is this really turning into the real front line in this war, these aerial attacks that are traded back and forth between Ukraine and Russia? What's actually happening on the physical front line?

**Sarah Rainsford** (4:35)
I think it's fair to say that because the battlefield, the ground war, has largely stalled, the movement on the ground is very, very limited, that the kind of real action, I suppose, is taking place now in the skies. And yeah, Russia is escalating its attacks. Ukraine is responding by using its long-range drones to hit targets, oil refineries in particular, deep inside Russia. Now, it's saying that the aim is to pressure Vladimir Putin to force him into peace talks, because Ukraine has been saying time and time again that what it wants is to end this war through negotiations, but it doesn't believe that Putin wants that to happen. So at the moment, Ukraine is also escalating its attacks, but particularly, as I say, against oil refineries, trying to cause fuel shortages inside Russia to bring the war home in some degree to Russians themselves, to a wider population, but also to cause problems for Russia's military and for the Russian economy too.