Russia launched one of its largest ballistic missile and drone barrages of the war at Kyiv overnight.
The hours-long attack damaged several multi-story residential buildings, a supermarket, and a dormitory, leaving at least one person dead and 16 others wounded, three seriously, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Skyfall Missile Russian Flying Chernobyl. Russian Government/Screenshot.
The relentless overnight assault saw 41 ballistic missiles and over 100 attack drones directed at the capital.
The strikes heavily impacted central and western districts, including the Lukianivska neighborhood, where the blast wave caused a partial ceiling collapse in a metro station vestibule used for civilian shelter.
Ukrainian forces claim to have shot down 18 of the 41 ballistic missiles, while Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 108 of the 125 Russian drones launched overnight.
In another deadly attack on Sunday, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov said a postal terminal in the city suburbs had been attacked, with four men aged between 24 and 62 killed, and 48 more wounded.
Russian Attacks In Odesa Creating Heavy Losses Of Life
Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian missile strike on an international cargo ship, the Golden Leo, a Turkish-owned, Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship carrying corn, off the Ukrainian coast outside of Odesa, has risen to 10.
Russian missile and drone strikes in Odesa have now killed 28 people in the month of July alone, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
“Since the beginning of July, the Odesa region has been under constant daily shelling. There were days when 13 to 15 air raid alerts had been announced in the region,” Kiper said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
Image Credit: Creative Commons. Image is of a Russian missile being tested.
Tit-For-Tat Attacks Hammer Each Capital
The bombardments appear to be part of an ongoing tit-for-tat escalation. Ukrainian officials reported that the strikes on Kyiv came shortly after Ukraine executed highly destructive drone attacks on Moscow.
Ukrainian forces targeted large logistics and warehouse facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions—which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated were supplying components for Russian drones—triggering major fires and resulting in eight Russian casualties.
Ukrainian forces are suffering from a severe lack of air defense missiles—particularly for U.S.-made Patriot systems—leaving the country highly vulnerable to an accelerating barrage of Russian ballistic missiles.
Former Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer Ivan Stupak said that because of this, the Ukrainians have changed their tactics.
Stupak told the RBC Ukraine YouTube channel that Ukrainian air defense units have shifted Patriot systems from automatic to manual operating mode to conserve missiles and improve engagement decisions during Russian aerial attacks.
According to Stupak, the manual operation allows operators to prioritize the most dangerous incoming threats rather than relying solely on automated engagement.
However, this critical shortage has led Ukrainian officials to request smaller, piecemeal deliveries of interceptors from Western allies while pursuing a 10-nation European ballistic missile shield to bypass ongoing supply constraints.
These supply shortages are exacerbated by the global scarcity of Patriot interceptors. Consequently, Ukraine is increasingly relying on domestically developed solutions like interceptor drones, mobile gun units, and electronic warfare to combat long-range Russian drones.
To bridge the air defense missile gap, the U.S. has granted Ukraine a special license to domestically produce Patriot interceptor missiles—a privilege previously extended to only two other nations.
“Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now,” Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday. “Interceptors are needed every day.”
Tackling Russia’s Missile Threat, The EU Offers Help To Kyiv
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy joined several heads of state in Paris last week for a meeting called the “Coalition of the Willing” to discuss how to support Ukraine and pressure Russia to end the war.
The coalition’s plans include developing a new anti-ballistic missile system as a cheaper alternative to the United States’ Patriot system.
Overall, 10 countries, along with a dozen firms from the defense sector, met to discuss what they called the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition.
“We believe that the protection of Europe requires a global solution of integrated missile defense architecture to deter and defeat future missile threats,” the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and Britain said in a statement released.
“It will complement existing ballistic missile defense systems, including sovereign European solutions already acquired or to be acquired by participating countries.”
President Zelenskyy has pleaded with leaders of the United States, NATO, and the West for more air defense weapons and has urged Europe to work with it on a joint anti-ballistic missile defense system.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
