Russian ballistic missiles hit a drone and weapons exhibition near Kyiv on July 24, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 100, Ukrainian officials said [1, 2, 3]. The venue was near Kyiv along the Zhytomyr highway, described variously as a military training ground or a private sports facility [2, 3]. Russia confirmed launching three ballistic missiles toward the exhibition site, claiming some drones displayed there were used against Russian civilians [1, 2, 3].
Ukrainian authorities said the event's invitation and location were shared only through closed industry channels before the attack. Public invites appeared online only after the strike [2, 3]. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said criminal investigations are underway into possible war law violations and negligence in organizing the event during wartime [2].
Separately on July 24, Russian missile strikes in the Kyiv region killed six people and wounded dozens, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He described a rescue operation underway and called the losses tragic [4]. Attacks in Sloviansk killed five people and injured nine. Russia meanwhile claimed territorial gains in the Kharkiv region around the same time [4].
Ukrainian missile strikes killed six and injured 26 in a factory attack in Russia's Kirov region on the same day [4]. On July 27, Ukraine launched hundreds of drone strikes deep into Russia's Rostov and other regions, killing five—including one child—and wounding dozens more, according to regional officials and local governors [5, 6, 7]. Rostov's acting governor called the strikes an irreplaceable loss and said emergency responders were on site [5].
Russian air defenses reported shooting down between 276 and 328 Ukrainian drones overnight, with numbers varying by source [8, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10]. Both sides exchanged multiple strikes overnight on July 24-25, causing casualties and damage including strikes on Wildberries logistics centers in Russia [4, 9, 10]. Sources differ on the total death toll from these overnight attacks, ranging from 3-6 up to 12 [4, 9, 10].
The missile strike near Kyiv targeted one of three launched at the drone expo; one missile was intercepted [2, 3]. Ukraine's prosecutor general is leading two criminal investigations related to the drone exhibition attack [1, 2, 3].
