Ukraine fails to stop any missiles overnight, after Zelensky says no interceptors remain

Ukraine fails to stop Russian missile barrage after Zelensky says interceptors gone - The Washington Post

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Ukraine fails to halt Russian barrage as Zelensky blames partners for ‘horrific casualties’

U.S.-made systems are Kyiv’s only means to shoot down ballistic missiles, and Ukraine says it has run out of interceptors. Seventeen Ukrainians died overnight.

August 5, 2026 at 8:39 a.m. EDT

39 minutes ago

4 min

*Firefighters put out a fire after Russian missiles hit a warehouse in Kyiv early Wednesday. (Dan Bashakov/AP)*

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AI Overview

Ukrainian forces failed to intercept Russian missiles in a recent attack on Kyiv, resulting in 17 deaths and over 40 injuries. President Zelensky highlighted the shortage of air defense interceptors and urged allies to impose more sanctions on Russia. A distribution warehouse in Brovary was destroyed, impacting Ukraine's largest online marketplace, Rozetka.

AI

Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.

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By

Kostiantyn Khudov

and

David L. Stern

KYIV — Ukrainian forces failed to shoot down a single Russian missile early Wednesday during Moscow’s latest aerial bombardment of Kyiv and the surrounding region — a consequence that President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed on a plunge in anti-ballistic systems supplied by its partners, including the United States.

Zelensky wrote on X that 17 people were killed and 44 injured, adding: “Ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today. It is very important that our partners understand that delays in supplying them, or an unwillingness to provide anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.” In a separate post Wednesday, he said that the number of air defense missiles supplied by partners “has dropped threefold compared with 2025.”

“Our partners do have the missiles,” Zelensky wrote. “It is important that the necessary political decisions on supplies and the acceleration of production processes are ultimately made.”

It was the third major ballistic attack on Kyiv in a week, and came only days after Zelensky warned that his country had run out of air defense interceptors. Russia launched 24 ballistic and four hypersonic cruise missiles overnight, along with 115 attack drones, most of which targeted the area outside of Kyiv, Ukraine’s Air Force said on social media. All of the missiles and 17 drones struck targets.

Russian forces also appear to be expanding their list of civilian targets to include Ukraine’s major supermarket chains.

In a statement posted on social media, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it carried out a “massive strike” that resulted “in the destruction of transportation, logistics, and distribution centers in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region.”

Ukraine relies on the U.S.-designed Patriot air defense systems as its only means to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, and until recently, a large number were intercepted. However, the system’s interceptor missiles are in short supply, in part because of the large number used during the Iran war.

European governments, Ukraine’s chief military backers, have been reluctant to hand over more of their Patriots out of worry this could hobble their own defenses. Earlier this year, the Trump administration prodded several European countries to send Kyiv their Patriot missiles, but some declined out of such concern, people familiar with the private discussions said.

NATO officials say production of the U.S.-made batteries and other air defenses is lagging behind the pace of global conflict and impacting countries including the United States.

On Friday, President Donald Trump also appeared to reverse an agreement reached with Zelensky earlier to provide Ukraine with licenses to produce interceptor missiles itself.

On social media on Wednesday, Zelensky also called for Ukraine’s allies to impose additional sanctions on Russia since he said “a significant share” of the components that Moscow obtains abroad for its ballistic missile production were not under sanctions.

Russia’s latest attack destroyed warehouses and logistics centers of some of Ukraine’s largest retail companies.

Iryna Chechotkina, a co-founder of Rozetka — Ukraine’s largest online marketplace, similar to Amazon — said that a distribution warehouse in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, where more than 100,000 orders were processed daily, was destroyed completely and could not be restored. No one was injured in the attack, to her “great relief,” she said.

“Today I was supposed to post about Rozetka turning 21. To thank our customers, partners, and team for this long journey we have traveled together,” Chechotkina wrote on Facebook.

“Instead, at night I watched as my life’s work burned down after three ballistic missiles hit,” she said.

For its part, Ukrainian drones in recent weeks have been bombarding warehouses run by Russia’s largest e-commerce marketplace Wildberries. On Wednesday, Ukrainian drones attacked a facility in Russia’s central Tula region, Telegram channels and local officials said.

*Stern reported from Mukachevo, Ukraine. Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.*

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What readers are saying

The comments express strong criticism of President Donald Trump and his administration's handling of the situation in Ukraine, particularly regarding the lack of military support and interceptor missiles. Many commenters accuse Trump of siding with Putin and prioritizing personal... Show more

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

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