RismadarVoice Reporters, August 5, 2026
At least 17 people have been killed in a massive overnight Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and surrounding areas, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning that some of the deaths could have been prevented if the country had sufficient missile interceptors.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said rescue and cleanup operations were ongoing following the attacks, which struck several locations in the Kyiv region.
Warehouses in Brovary were damaged, while another warehouse in Bucha caught fire. Ukrainian authorities said civilian businesses, logistics facilities and other infrastructure were among the sites hit.
Zelenskyy said Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 115 drones during the assault.
“The main targets of the attack were warehouse facilities belonging to civilian businesses,” he said in a post on X.
He said the strikes also hit infrastructure and a railway station, as well as facilities including a brewing company, construction-material warehouses and civilian logistics centres.
Zelenskyy attributed the heavy casualties to Ukraine’s shortage of air-defence interceptors, particularly those capable of stopping ballistic missiles.
“Ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today,” he said, urging Ukraine’s international partners to accelerate deliveries of advanced air-defence systems.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.
“The war of attrition has entered its next phase. The enemy is attacking everything in its path: retail warehouses, food warehouses, logistics hubs, enterprises, and construction material warehouses,” he said.
Al Jazeera correspondent Audrey MacAlpine, reporting from Kyiv, said Ukrainian authorities reported that cluster munitions had been used during the attack.
She said a major retail facility was among the sites affected and described hearing repeated explosions across the capital during the overnight assault.
The attacks have renewed concerns over Ukraine’s dwindling supply of Patriot missile interceptors, which are considered among the country’s most important defences against Russian ballistic missiles.
The United States is reportedly considering several options to help Ukraine replenish its depleted stocks of Patriot missiles.
Reuters, citing four sources, reported that US officials were discussing a possible arrangement under which Ukraine could manufacture some components domestically before the missiles were assembled in Germany.
Other options reportedly include allowing Ukraine to produce a cheaper version of the interceptor or integrating the country into a broader US-European Patriot production programme.
The discussions come after US President Donald Trump appeared to retreat from an earlier promise to grant Kyiv a licence to manufacture Patriot interceptors.
Reports have also suggested that US weapons stocks have been strained by the five-month conflict with Iran, which is currently paused amid diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.
Ukraine also launched attacks against targets inside Russia on Wednesday.
Drones struck a warehouse sorting facility belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in Aleksin in the Tula region, according to regional Governor Dmitry Milyaev.
Milyaev said other structures, including two apartment buildings, were also damaged.
Ukraine has targeted more than a dozen Wildberries facilities in recent weeks, alleging that the company supplies dual-use equipment that contributes to Russia’s military operations.
Russian authorities also reported extensive Ukrainian drone attacks overnight.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had destroyed 475 Ukrainian drones across several regions. Ukrainian forces also reportedly struck an oil refinery in Ufa, in Russia’s Bashkortostan region.
As Ukraine faces mounting pressure on its air defences, Reuters reported that Russia has received a missile unit from North Korea that could include up to 120 missiles and six launchers.
The unit has reportedly been deployed in western Russia, according to Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, cited by Reuters.
Zelenskyy has urged countries unable to provide interceptor missiles to instead support Ukraine through additional sanctions against Russia, particularly targeting companies involved in ballistic missile production.
He has called on the G7 and European Union to strengthen measures against manufacturers accused of helping Russia circumvent existing sanctions.
