Russian Foreign Ministry's Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said on 4 July 2026 that Ukrainian military strikes have killed nearly 8,500 civilians in Russia since February 2022, with total casualties — including the injured — reaching 30,913 across the conflict period. The figures were presented at an official briefing, marking one of Moscow's most detailed public accounting of civilian losses on Russian soil.

Key Figures and Casualty Data

According to Miroshnik, the cumulative toll from February 2022 to 30 June 2026 stands at 30,913 casualties, of which approximately 8,434 were fatalities. He further stated that 373 children have been killed and 1,845 children injured since 2014, a figure that encompasses the broader conflict timeline predating Russia's full-scale invasion.

Miroshnik said Ukrainian strikes had damaged civilian infrastructure across 42 Russian regions over the past three months alone, citing incidents including an attack on a college in Starobelsk, an attack on a bus carrying Belarusian children in the Bryansk region, and an assault on a civilian passenger bus in Yenakiyevo.

Moscow's Drone Intercepts Over the Capital

Separately, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on Friday that Russian air defence forces had shot down 28 drones targeting Moscow since the start of the day, with eight additional drones intercepted Friday night. 'Emergency service crews are working at the debris site,' Sobyanin said in a social media update. The scale of the drone barrage underscores the sustained aerial pressure on the Russian capital.

Russia Claims Full Control of Konstantinovka

In a significant battlefield development, Russia claimed it had taken full control of Konstantinovka, a strategically located city in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying, 'The main news is that Konstantinovka has been completely taken.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin, visiting a temporary command post on Friday, described the capture as carrying 'great strategic significance,' noting that the city is 'a key transportation hub and a major industrial centre of Donbas.' Putin added that Russian forces have taken control of 133 settlements and more than 3,000 square km across Donbas and Novorossiya since the start of 2026.

Russia's Diplomatic and Strategic Response

Russia has formally condemned Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets and delivered an official diplomatic note to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling for an international probe into the incidents. Putin also signalled an escalatory posture, stating that the more Ukraine targets civilian facilities in Russia, the larger the 'security buffer zone' Russia would need to establish in adjacent territory — a remark widely read as justification for continued territorial expansion. This comes amid an already protracted conflict that has drawn repeated international calls for a ceasefire.