Zelenskyy comments on Russia's massive retaliatory strike

In Ukraine on 2 July 2026, Russia carried out what its military leadership called a massive retaliatory strike. A drone attack on Kyiv left six people injured, according to the city's mayor, and Kyiv's metro saw a record shelter crowd, with 52,500 people taking cover after the overnight attack.

President Zelensky said Ukraine will “definitely” retaliate for the attack on Kyiv and that Russia will receive a response. La Repubblica reported that satellite photos of bombers on the move had let Zelensky know of the raids in advance. Separately, Ukraine's foreign minister said Russia had offered thousands of prisoners of war in exchange for captured North Koreans, according to sources. A study put military casualties in the war above 2 million, with Russian deaths four times higher, while Der Spiegel cited up to 600,000 soldiers killed.