(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted on Friday that 31 individuals lost their lives and 159 were hurt in the previous day’s Russian offensive against the capital, Kyiv.

According to a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy announced that search and rescue operations had concluded, and August 1 would be dedicated to mourning in the city.

Zelenskyy had previously described the nighttime shelling on July 31 as "massive," emphasizing that Kyiv was the central focus of the strike.

The head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Serhiy Tkachenko, stated that eight people perished in the capital and more than 100 buildings were affected.

The Russian Defense Ministry, in a statement, acknowledged that its forces had conducted a coordinated strike on Ukrainian territory, asserting that only military-related sites were targeted.

The ministry further asserted that Russian troops had seized seven communities in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia provinces, including Chasiv Yar, referred to as "the key to Donbas" because of its tactical location.

Additionally, the ministry claimed that Ukrainian aerial offensives had been countered, reporting that air defense units had intercepted and neutralized six guided bombs, six HIMARS missiles made in the US, three Czech-manufactured Vampire rocket system projectiles, a Neptune cruise missile with long-range capability, and 1,446 drone aircraft.

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