Russia and Ukraine Trade Heavy Strikes as Kyiv Hit in Overnight Attack

Russia and Ukraine exchanged heavy strikes around July 12 and 13, 2026, with a deadly overnight attack on Kyiv and a Ukrainian strike that set a Russian oil depot ablaze.

Casualties on Both Sides

In the July 12 exchange, Russian attacks killed four people in Ukraine, including three in the Dnipropetrovsk region, two of them in the city of Kryvyi Rih, and one more in the southern Kherson region.

Ukrainian strikes killed five people on Russian-held or Russian territory. Four of them died in occupied Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, and one was killed at the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region. Together, the day's toll across both sides reached nine dead.

Overnight Assault on Kyiv

Overnight into July 13, a Russian ballistic-missile and drone attack struck Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Across Ukraine, at least 10 people were killed and roughly 80 others injured, with children among the wounded.

The strikes added to pressure on Ukraine's air defences as Russia continued its ballistic-missile campaign against Ukrainian cities. Ukraine continues to face shortages of Patriot interceptors needed to blunt those attacks, a gap that has left population centers exposed during large-scale strikes.

Strike on Russian Oil Depot

Ukraine struck the Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt oil depot, also known as Mikhailovskaya, in Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia, setting it ablaze. The attack formed part of a broader Ukrainian effort to target Russian energy infrastructure well behind the front lines.

The exchanges were reported by outlets including Al Jazeera, The Moscow Times and the Kyiv Independent.