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GERMANY PERSPECTIVE
MASSIVE RUSSIAN STRIKE ON KYIV: AT LEAST 11 DEAD UNDER MISSILES AND DRONES
DOMINANT ANGLE
Berlin is assessing the unprecedented scale of the attack on Kyiv — the deadliest since the start of the conflict — and retracing the sequence of retaliations that led to this night of intense bombing.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
ANALYSIS
Berlin, July 3, 2026. In German newsrooms, the night of July 1-2 stands out as the deadliest for Kyiv since the start of the war. Nearly 500 drones, dozens of cruise missiles, and rockets hit the Ukrainian capital in several waves, killing at least 22 people and injuring 86, according to Handelsblatt and DW - a toll revised upward throughout the morning.
The detail of the targets reported by the German press is striking in its scope: all ten districts of Kyiv were affected, on both sides of the Dnieper River. Residential buildings were completely reduced to rubble; a hotel and an emergency services station were destroyed. The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, described a city in flames: "a real inferno" where residents spent the night in bunkers or in the metro, which she had "never seen so crowded," according to DW.
Tagesschau notes that the air alert lasted from 7:52 pm on July 1 to 7:15 am the next morning - the longest ever recorded since the start of the conflict, or nearly eleven hours straight. Residents had set up tents in the metro stations. Among the victims were two children and an emergency worker.
For Handelsblatt, this assault is part of a logic of retaliation. A Ukrainian strike had targeted a refinery on the outskirts of Moscow a few weeks earlier, enveloping the Russian capital in thick smoke - an affront difficult for the Kremlin to swallow. Observers were expecting a large-scale response, and the tension was palpable in Kyiv despite the summer atmosphere of the past few days.
DW emphasizes that Zelensky had anticipated the attack based on intelligence and had interrupted his official visit to Ireland to return urgently. He confirmed that the targets were "mainly ordinary residential buildings" and denounced the destruction of a fire station, a scientific institute, and a hotel.
The broader military context, outlined by Handelsblatt via CSIS data, sheds light on the conflict's dynamics: the ratio of Russian to Ukrainian losses would have reached 8 to 1 in the first half of 2026, thanks to the intensive use of Ukrainian drones. The CSIS estimates Russian losses at 400,000-450,000 men (killed, injured, missing) compared to 125,000-150,000 on the Ukrainian side since 2022.
KEY POINTS
- Germany's capital is closely watching the situation in Kyiv, where nearly 500 drones and dozens of missiles struck in multiple waves overnight from July 1 to July 2, resulting in at least 22 deaths and 86 injuries.
- The German government is monitoring the prolonged air alert that lasted from 7:52 PM on July 1 to 7:15 AM on July 2 — the longest of the conflict — during which all ten districts of Kyiv were affected.
- According to the CSIS, Germany's government is examining the estimated ratio of Russian to Ukrainian losses, which stands at 8 to 1 in the first half of 2026, with 400,000-450,000 Russian losses compared to 125,000-150,000 on the Ukrainian side.
COGNITIVE BIASES IDENTIFIED
The dominant humanitarian perspective focuses on civilians and destruction, rather than the strategic or military dimensions of the attack
Germany's political response receives limited coverage: Berlin's stances on arms deliveries or diplomatic responses are absent from the articles
Preference is given to Ukrainian and Western sources: no Russian sources are cited to present the Kremlin's version
SOURCES (4)
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