Photo: A record 56,000 people took shelter in the Kyiv metro during a nighttime attack by Russia
During the massive Russian attack on Kyiv on the night of July 29–30, more than 56,000 people took shelter from the shelling in the capital’s metro stations. This is a record number since the start of the full-scale war.
The Kyiv Metro municipal enterprise noted that the previous record was set on the night of July 2, when 52,500 people were in the metro.
The “Kyiv Metro” also refuted reports circulating in the media and on social media claiming that certain stations were allegedly not allowing people inside. They emphasized that after the air raid alert was announced, all stations were open and functioning as shelters.
As explained by the municipal enterprise, during an air raid alert, 46 underground metro stations function as shelters, and all station lobbies are opened to allow people quick access.
At the same time, metro officials explained that reports of “closed stations” may have arisen because staff were asked to leave their work areas and move to the platforms. The company emphasized that staff areas and passageways are not intended for passengers, and access to them is restricted for safety reasons.
This was reported by the Kyiv Metro municipal enterprise.
As a reminder, as a result of the Russian shelling of Kyiv on the night of July 30, the stained-glass windows of the underground passageway at the “Pochayna” metro station were damaged.
On the night of July 30, 2026, Russia carried out one of its largest combined strikes against Ukraine, deploying 358 air attack weapons—including various types of missiles and attack drones. Air defense forces destroyed or neutralized 320 aerial targets.
