Russia launched a massive overnight barrage of 35 missiles and 185 drones at Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people across multiple regions, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Ukraine has virtually no Patriot interceptor missiles left to defend against ballistic attacks.
The assault targeted Kyiv as its primary objective, with additional strikes hitting Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. Of the 35 missiles fired, 27 were ballistic weapons that only the US-made Patriot system can effectively counter. Ukraine managed to intercept just one of those ballistic missiles. “Only one ballistic missile was intercepted, simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot systems,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
The interceptor crisis has been building for weeks. The United States diverted large quantities of Patriot missiles to support its own military operations, leaving Ukraine’s stocks depleted. Russia has exploited the gap by dramatically increasing its use of ballistic missiles, with launches up 83 percent compared to the same period last year. The UN reported that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, driven largely by the surge in ballistic missile attacks.
In Kyiv, fires broke out across the capital as missiles struck with near impunity. At least 18 residential buildings, a school, the Lithuanian Embassy, and critical infrastructure were damaged. Emergency rescue teams worked through the night to pull survivors from the rubble. The death toll across all affected regions reached 21, with dozens more wounded.
The shortage has exposed a critical vulnerability in Ukraine’s defenses, as Patriot remains the only system capable of reliably intercepting Russia’s Iskander-M, Kinzhal, and Zircon ballistic missiles. Without a rapid resupply, Ukrainian cities face months of increasingly devastating strikes as Russia ramps up production.
Zelenskyy called on Western allies to accelerate delivery of air defense systems, warning that Moscow is seeking to significantly boost missile production ahead of winter. The pressure on Washington and European capitals has intensified as civilian casualties mount and the interceptor stockpile remains near zero.
Sources: BBC News, NPR, Washington Post
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