Arabic version: ضربات روسية تقتل 21 شخصاً فيما تسعى أوكرانيا للحصول على صواريخ اعتراضية

According to BBC News, Russian ballistic missile and drone attacks on Ukraine killed at least 21 people, with Kyiv and the surrounding region suffering their deadliest strikes of the year overnight. Seventeen deaths were reported in the capital and wider Kyiv region, while attacks in Kharkiv and Donetsk killed one and three people respectively.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said interceptors “could have saved lives” and warned that delays in receiving anti-ballistic systems from partners lead to “horrific casualties and destruction”. He later said supplies of interceptors from allies had been “significantly reduced” this year. Ukraine did not report intercepting any of the missiles in the overnight attack.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said people could be trapped beneath rubble after residential buildings, a railway station and warehouses were hit. Ukraine’s emergency services reported one death and at least 16 injuries in Kyiv city, plus 16 deaths and 29 injuries in the wider region. Fires were still being extinguished at five locations across the Kyiv region, covering about 230,000 sq m.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles, four anti-ship missiles and 115 drones during the attack on the capital, adding that air defences intercepted 98 drones. BBC Verify analysis of Ukrainian air force data found missile interception rates had fallen to 44.4% in the month to 5 August 2026, compared with 66.7% during the same period in 2025, while Russian missile launches rose 83%.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck logistics hubs and supply centres in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as three cargo vessels near the Black Sea port of Odesa. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians. The European Commission said it had received €1.4bn from immobilised Russian assets for support for Ukraine in the war.