Russia Strikes Kyiv With Ballistic Missiles, Killing 17 as Ukraine Runs Low on Interceptors

Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles, and 115 drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight Wednesday in one of the deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital this year, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 44 others — as Ukrainian forces failed to intercept a single ballistic missile, exposing the critical shortage of Patriot interceptors that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says is costing Ukrainian lives.

Not One Ballistic Missile Shot Down

Ukraine’s air force reported that its defenses successfully downed nearly 90% of the 115 drones launched by Russia. But of the 24 ballistic missiles and four Zircon and Oniks cruise missiles fired at Kyiv, not one was intercepted.

“Ballistic missile interceptors — these are what could have saved the lives of those who died today,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram following the attack. “It is crucial that our partners understand that delays in their supply or a reluctance to provide anti-ballistic systems leads to precisely these horrific casualties and destruction.”

Warehouses, Railway Station, Civilian Facilities Targeted

The Russia Kyiv strike ballistic missiles Patriot interceptors shortage crisis played out across a wide swath of civilian infrastructure. Among the sites struck were warehouse facilities in Brovary and Bucha, a railway station, a brewery, building materials depots, and civilian logistics centers. A fire broke out at a warehouse in Bucha that required emergency response teams to work through the night.

“The main targets of the attack were storage facilities belonging to civilian enterprises, but there were also strikes on infrastructure and a railway station,” Zelenskyy said. “The targets included entities unrelated to the war: a brewery, warehouses for building materials and civilian logistics facilities.”

The Ukrainian online retailer Rozetka’s logistics hub was among the facilities hit, and firefighters were photographed battling a blaze at the site.

A Response to Ukraine’s Wildberries Campaign

Moscow’s attack appeared designed in part as a direct riposte to Ukraine’s sustained campaign of drone strikes against Wildberries — Russia’s largest online retailer, comparable to Amazon — which Ukrainian forces have targeted repeatedly in recent weeks, striking more than a dozen of the company’s facilities. Ukraine says the attacks are justified because the company allegedly supplies dual-use items that support Russia’s war effort. Russia has denied this.

Ukraine also conducted its own strikes Wednesday, hitting a Wildberries sorting warehouse in the town of Aleksin in Tula oblast, according to regional Governor Dmitry Milyaev. Ukrainian drones also struck an oil refinery and caused damage to two apartment buildings in the area, Milyaev confirmed.

The Patriot Shortage: A Growing Crisis

The US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system remains Ukraine’s only effective defense against Russian ballistic missiles. But a global shortage of PAC-3 interceptors — exacerbated by the ongoing US-Iran war, which has consumed a significant portion of US missile defense stockpiles — combined with President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down direct military aid to Kyiv has severely depleted the stocks available for Ukraine’s air defense.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi, who took office last month in a government reshuffle, said he would call an emergency meeting with businesses to work out how to secure continued logistics and trade operations in the face of ongoing attacks.

Zelenskyy, who recently met Trump in Washington and secured a promise to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot systems domestically, said the production timeline of many months to years is no substitute for immediate interceptor deliveries. “Partners who are not ready to help more actively with the supply of interceptors right now can help by imposing new sanctions,” he said.