Ukraine Strikes Kill 17 and Wound 44 in Russian Missile Barrage on Kyiv
Ukraine strikes killed at least 17 people and wounded 44 others overnight into Wednesday when Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four other missiles identified as either hypersonic Zircons or supersonic Oniks, and 115 drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region. [2] A large-scale Russian barrage of 24 ballistic missiles, four hypersonic or supersonic missiles, and 115 drones struck Kyiv and surrounding regions overnight, killing at least 17 people and wounding 44, with many impacts on civilian warehouses, businesses, and infrastructure unrelated to the war. [2]
Deadly Russian Barrage Hits Kyiv Region
Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region killed 17 people and wounded 44 others overnight into Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said. [2] Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four other missiles identified as either hypersonic Zircons or supersonic Oniks, and 115 drones, many of them jet-powered, in the attack. [2] The two-hour attack was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian ballistic missile strikes that have become near-routine this summer. [2] Ukraine has a limited stockpile of interceptor missiles for the US-made Patriot systems, the sole air defence system in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles, making large volleys like Wednesday’s hard to stop. [2]
Targets Included Civilian Warehouses and Businesses
Mr Zelensky said the Russian strikes mainly targeted warehouses belonging to civilian businesses, as well as infrastructure and a railway station, hitting sites that he described as “with no connection to the war” — including a brewing company, building materials warehouses and civilian logistics facilities. [2] One of the companies that came under heavy fire was Epicentr, one of Ukraine’s largest retail and construction chains. [2] It said in a statement on Facebook that “in minutes, Russian missiles destroyed what the company had built over decades”. [2] One employee was killed and three others were wounded as Russia hit two of the company’s key logistics hubs. [2] A direct hit also destroyed the production floor of its ceramic tile factory, forcing the company to halt manufacturing there and shift production abroad, with full recovery expected to take up to two years, the company said. [2] According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the Epicenter logistics centre handled order processing, sorting, storing and delivery of dual-use goods and components for drone production. [2]
Zelensky Calls for More Air Defense Support
“Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement on Telegram. [2] “It is very important for our partners to understand that delays in supplying them, or a reluctance to hand over anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.” [2] Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that additional missile interceptors “could have saved lives” and blamed delays in Western air-defence deliveries. [3] "Partners who are not ready to help more actively with interceptor supplies right now can assist with new sanction measures," Zelensky said, arguing that much of Russia's ballistic missile production remains outside existing sanctions. [3] "New steps are needed from the G7 and the EU," he added. [3] Allies have supplied just a third of the air defense missiles to Ukraine in 2026 compared with 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. [5]
Fires and Damage Across Kyiv Districts
In the wider Kyiv region around the capital, there were fires at multiple locations in Brovary, Bucha and Fastiv districts, Ukraine’s emergency service said. [2] Large warehouse fires burned in the city of Brovary and the villages of Velyka Dymerka, Kvitneve and Peremoha. [2] A fire involving vehicles at an enterprise in Fastiv district was extinguished. [2] In Bucha district, crews battled a warehouse fire in the village of Chaiky after putting out a separate fire at a logistics facility in Sofiivska Borshchahivka. [2] In the capital, emergency crews extinguished all fires sparked by the strikes in the Obolonskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi and Desnianskyi districts, the Kyiv City Military Administration said. [2] Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s president on defence technology development, said the war of attrition has entered a new phase. [2] “The enemy is attacking everything indiscriminately — retail warehouses, food storage facilities, logistics hubs, enterprises, building materials warehouses,” he said on Facebook. [2]
EU Releases Funds from Frozen Russian Assets
The EU will use €1.4bn generated by the interest on the cash balances originating from immobilised assets of the Central Bank of Russia to provide financial support for Ukraine. [3] In a statement on Wednesday (5 August), the European Commission said that the interest had been accrued in the first six months of 2026 from some €210bn in Russian central bank reserves that were frozen by the EU after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and are currently held by Central Securities Depositories. [3] “Russia must pay for the destruction it has caused. And we are using the proceeds from the immobilised Russian assets to make sure it does,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. [3] “This will support Ukraine’s continued resistance against Russia’s illegal war,” she added. [3] The EU executive said the new €1.4bn tranche was the fifth transfer of its kind, adding that the Russian assets have generated a total of €8bn in windfall profits since 2022. [3] However, only five percent of the cash, equivalent to €70m, will be used to finance military assistance for Kyiv via the European Peace Facility. [3] The remaining €1.33 billion will be funnelled through the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism to help service loans extended to Ukraine via the EU and G7. [3] The announcement by the EU Commission on Wednesday came after a series of missile and drone attacks killed at least 17 people and wounded 44 in Kyiv overnight. [3]
Related Attacks and Retaliation Context
Also on Wednesday, the director of a drone factory in the Urals was badly wounded when his car exploded, the Russian state Tass news agency reported. [2] In Russia, Tass said that Vladimir Tkachuk was taken to hospital in a grave condition after his car exploded in Bolshoy Istok just outside Yekaterinburg, about 375km east of Moscow. [2] It did not immediately give details of the explosion or say who could be responsible. [2] Mr Tkachuk headed the Uraldrinzavod factory that manufactured the Upyr drones for the Russian military. [2] Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for a series of bombings and other attacks against senior military officials after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. [2] The explosion followed Saturday’s deadly bombing at an upscale Moscow restaurant, which the Russian Embassy in Rome blamed on Ukraine, describing it as an attempt to intimidate the Italian community in Russia. [2] It said in a statement on Monday that the attack on the Balzi Rossi restaurant killed five and injured 19. [2] The Russian Foreign Ministry reposted the embassy statement without comment, and Russia’s security agencies have not named the suspected culprits. [2] Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has described the bombing as a “brutal terrorist act”, but did not say who was responsible. [2] Russian drones attacked Zaporizhzhia Oblast during the day on 5 August, killing a woman, causing fires and destroying buildings in the village of Kushuhum. [4] "The enemy attacked the Kushuhum hromada: a woman was killed and retail premises were damaged." [4] A Russian FPV drone hit retail premises in the village of Kushuhum in Zaporizhzhia district. [4] A 51-year-old woman was killed. [4]
What to watch next: Zelensky said partners who are not ready to help more actively with interceptor supplies right now can assist with new sanction measures, and new steps are needed from the G7 and the EU.
