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Barrage, casualties, targets
Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles and 115 drones in an overnight attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said killed 17 people and wounded 44 others.
“killed 17 people and wounded 44 others”
Zelenskyy said the strikes mainly targeted warehouses belonging to civilian businesses, as well as infrastructure and a railway station, including a brewing company and civilian logistics facilities.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 98 of the 115 drones, but preliminary statistics indicated Kyiv failed to shoot down any of the missiles launched.
Ukrainian officials said the barrage lasted about two hours, while the BBC reported explosions rang out in Kyiv shortly after midnight after the Ukrainian Air Force warned of ballistic missile attacks.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces hit transport, logistics and distribution centres involved in military activity, and it listed four targets in Kyiv, claiming they ran war-related operations.
Zelensky blames partners
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s supplies of air defense missiles have fallen threefold compared with 2025, even as partner countries have available stockpiles, after Russia’s third ballistic missile attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region in a week.
In a Telegram statement, Zelenskyy warned, “The number of air defense missiles in deliveries has fallen threefold compared with 2025,” and added that the reduction applies to the entire first half of 2026.
The BBC reported Zelensky said “ballistic interceptor missiles were able to save the lives of those killed today,” and warned that the shortage “only encourages Russia to launch attacks that take lives.”
The Kyiv Post said the meeting with Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapaty, Chief of the General Staff Ihor Skybiuk, and acting Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara focused on battlefield developments and Ukraine’s most urgent supply needs.
The Kyiv Post also reported that Trump reportedly rejected Zelensky’s Patriot missile request during a July 28 meeting in the Oval Office, citing limited U.S. stockpiles and needs in the Middle East and Gulf states amid tensions with Iran.
Aftermath and what’s at risk
The BBC said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russia’s “horrific atrocities” in the Kyiv region and announced an additional 1.4 billion euros for the war effort in Ukraine.
“announced an additional 1.4 billion euros for the war effort in Ukraine”
Von der Leyen said, “We are making another 1.4 billion euros from these proceeds available to Ukraine,” tying the funding to proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
The CBC reported that Russia’s Defence Ministry said it downed 475 Ukrainian drones overnight over 16 Russian regions, as well as in illegally annexed Crimea and the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s depleted interceptor capability remained central to the immediate stakes, with the CBC describing the intensified barrages as exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptor missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot systems, the sole air defence system in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.
Zelenskyy said on social media, “delays in supplying them, or a reluctance to hand over anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction,” as Ukraine urged partners to accelerate deliveries and expand defense production.
