KYIV, Ukraine: Russia carried out a large missile and drone attack on Kyiv and nearby areas early on August 1, killing 10 people.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country has run out of interceptor missiles for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.
Zelenskyy said Russia fired 35 missiles, including 27 ballistic ones, along with 185 drones. Only one ballistic missile was stopped because Ukraine no longer has enough interceptor missiles for the Patriot system.
Witnesses reported hearing more than a dozen explosions across Kyiv as the attacks came in several waves.
Zelenskyy said that each delivery of interceptor missiles helps save lives, and without them more people are killed.
The war is now in its fifth year, with fighting continuing along a front line that stretches about 1,200 kilometers. Although Russian progress on the battlefield has slowed this year, Ukraine has been carrying out strikes inside Russia, targeting oil sites, supply routes, and weapons facilities.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had hit three oil refineries in Russia’s Bashkortostan region and other key sites that support Moscow’s war effort. He added that Ukraine is now bringing the war back onto Russian territory.
At the same time, Russia has increased its attacks on Kyiv and other cities. Ukraine depends heavily on Patriot air defense systems from the United States. However, some interceptor missiles that were meant for Ukraine have been redirected due to conflict involving Iran, going instead to U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East.
Both Russia and Ukraine say they do not target civilians in the war, which began after Russia launched a full invasion in February 2022.
This latest strike is the second major attack on Kyiv in the same week. Earlier, nine people were killed, including six members of one family near Kryvyi Rih. A suspected Russian missile also landed in Poland.
Officials said damage was reported in seven districts of Kyiv, a city with a population of around three million.
Zelenskyy said fires broke out across the city, damaging 18 homes, a school, the Lithuanian Embassy, and several infrastructure sites.
Prosecutors said seven people were killed in the Darnytskyi district on the east side of the Dnipro River, while two more died in the Solomyanskyi district on the west side. Another person was killed in the wider Kyiv region, where warehouses were also damaged.
Dozens of people were injured, including four children who suffered serious wounds from shrapnel.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city is working to build more shelters as attacks become more frequent.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called again for urgent help with air defense, saying: “It is the battle for the skies that will define the trajectory of this war. The stronger the air shield over Ukraine, the closer peace becomes.”
