KYIV: Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 40 others in Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday, as Ukraine’s air defences failed to intercept any of the missiles fired during the latest barrage.
The attack, one of the deadliest in recent weeks, involved a combination of ballistic missiles and drones targeting the Ukrainian capital and nearby areas.
Ukrainian officials said the inability to stop the missile strikes highlighted the country’s urgent need for additional air defence systems, particularly US-made Patriot interceptors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said advanced missile defence systems could have prevented the deaths.
As of now, 44 people have been reported injured in the massive Russian strike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region. Another 17 people, tragically, were killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. It was a heavy strike – 24 ballistic missiles, 4 Zircon/Oniks missiles, and… pic.twitter.com/4LoHXXkt8R
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 5, 2026
“Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today,” Zelensky said, confirming that 17 people had died in the strikes.
According to AFP, smoke was rising over Kyiv at sunrise, with fires breaking out at several locations following the overnight bombardment. Residents described a night of fear as explosions echoed across the city after midnight.
Ukraine’s air force said it had managed to shoot down 98 out of 115 drones launched by Russia overnight. However, preliminary assessments showed that none of the incoming missiles were intercepted.
While Ukraine has improved its ability to counter drone attacks, officials say the country remains heavily dependent on Western-supplied systems to defend against ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept due to their speed and trajectory.
Zelensky has repeatedly warned that Ukraine is facing shortages of air defence equipment as Russia intensifies missile attacks.
According to Ukrainian air force data analysed by AFP, Moscow launched a record number of missiles against Ukraine in July.
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Warehouses and logistics sites targeted
Kyiv authorities said many of the overnight strikes targeted warehouses and logistics facilities, while some attacks hit infrastructure and a railway station.
A local official said eight people were killed in a strike on a railway station in eastern Kyiv. The logistics facilities of retail company Epicentr were also hit, with one warehouse completely destroyed and an employee killed, according to the company.
Three workers at a postal sorting centre were also reported killed. Russia’s defence authorities said the strikes targeted “transportation, logistics and distribution centres” in Kyiv and the surrounding region that were allegedly linked to the storage of weapons, military supplies and the production of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The latest attack came amid an ongoing escalation in strikes between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow has increased the frequency of attacks on Kyiv in recent months, often using large waves of ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has continued targeting Russian facilities, including logistics and commercial sites that Kyiv claims support Moscow’s military operations.
Russia’s major online retailer Wildberries has been hit several times by Ukrainian strikes since mid-July, damaging storage capacity.
Kyiv has accused the company of assisting Russia’s war effort by storing drone components, a claim the company has denied.
