Russian strikes kill 17 near Kyiv

Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight on August 5, killing at least 17 people and damaging homes, schools and diplomatic property, according to Ukrainian officials and multiple news reports. The attack came as Ukraine said it was short of interceptor missiles needed to stop Russian ballistic weapons. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the shortage of anti-ballistic interceptors was encouraging Russia to keep targeting civilians. The barrage added to a summer pattern of large Russian strikes on the capital and its outskirts. ### Why were so many missiles getting through this time? Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on August 5 that Ukraine’s forces had success against drones and cruise missiles but not against Russian ballistic missiles because of an insufficient supply of interceptor missiles. Ukraine’s presidential website said Zelenskyy discussed the issue the same day with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The Washington Post reported that Ukraine failed to halt the barrage and that U.S.-made Patriot systems are Kyiv’s only means to shoot down ballistic missiles. (washingtonpost.com) PBS said the latest strike exposed a critical air-defense shortage that Russia has sought to exploit. ### What do officials say was hit around Kyiv? Kyiv and the surrounding region were hit in an overnight barrage that killed at least 17 people, according to the Washington Post and PBS. (president.gov.ua) Ukrinform reported that a Russian attack in Kyiv damaged the Lithuanian Embassy, residential buildings and a school in the capital days earlier, and quoted Zelenskyy saying a shortage of anti-ballistic interceptors was driving the heavy civilian toll. (washingtonpost.com) Ukrinform’s August 6 news file also reported that cleanup was still under way in two districts of Kyiv region after a Russian ballistic missile strike. PBS described the August 5 attack as part of increasingly routine summer barrages on the capital. ### What has Zelenskyy asked allies to do? Zelenskyy told partners that every package for Ukraine’s air defense protects lives, according to his office’s August 4 and August 5 updates. The presidential website said he spoke with Rutte about work with partners to supply interceptor missiles and separately discussed stronger protection against Russian ballistic missiles with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. (washingtonpost.com) Ukraine’s government and state media have been making the same request for weeks. (ukrinform.net) Ukrinform reported in June that Kyiv was asking partners to transfer interceptor missiles nearing the end of their service life rather than dispose of them, and reported in July that the Defense Ministry said Ukraine needed uninterrupted deliveries of air-defense interceptors. (president.gov.ua) ### How does this fit the recent pattern of attacks? PBS reported on August 5 that large Russian missile attacks have become nearly routine this summer as Moscow tries to exploit Ukraine’s air-defense shortage. Another PBS report, based on Associated Press reporting from July 6, said Russia killed at least 22 people in the Kyiv region in an earlier wave that also exposed widening gaps in Ukraine’s defenses. (ukrinform.net) The Washington Post said Zelenskyy blamed partners for “horrific casualties” after the latest barrage. That account and the Ukrainian presidential readouts point to the same immediate next step: securing more interceptor missiles for Patriot batteries and other air-defense systems. ### What comes next after the August 5 strike? August 6 brought continued cleanup in Kyiv region and more Ukrainian appeals for air-defense support, according to Ukrinform and Zelenskyy’s office. (pbs.org) The presidential website said Zelenskyy’s August 5 calls with Rutte and Stubb focused on obtaining interceptor missiles and strengthening protection against ballistic threats, making those talks the clearest named next step after the attack. (ukrinform.net) (washingtonpost.com)