Russian strikes kill at least three in Kyiv as Ukraine's air defense runs out of interceptors

Night of 7-8 August strikes

Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv and its region killed at least three people and wounded seven in the night of Friday 7 to Saturday 8 August 2026. An AFP journalist heard around ten explosions shaking the Ukrainian capital at approximately 02:00 Paris time, after the local military administration announced an air alert due to the use of ballistic missiles. In Puikhivka, a village on the northeastern periphery of Kyiv, the strikes killed three people including a child born in 2022, and wounded three more, according to emergency services, which did not specify whether missiles or drones were responsible. In Kyiv itself, the military authority recorded four wounded, and firefighters reported blazes in two districts.

A pattern of escalating bombardment

The 8 August attack followed an even deadlier strike three days earlier. On Wednesday 5 August, at least 17 people were killed in nighttime strikes on Kyiv and its region. According to reporting cited by Courrier international, none of the 24 ballistic missiles and 4 hypersonic missiles fired at the capital that day were shot down. The Kyiv Post, cited in the same article, described Russia combining swarms of drones with high-speed ballistic missiles that are significantly harder to intercept. More than four years after the start of Russia's invasion, strikes are intensifying on both sides of a nearly static front line, producing a growing number of civilian casualties.

Air defense collapse

Ukraine's air defense has been unable to intercept incoming missiles for lack of interceptors, which President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged Western allies to supply. Courrier international, summarizing the Kyiv Independent, described a severe air defense shortage exposing the capital to Russian ballistic missiles. With no advances on the front, Moscow appears to have decided to intensify strikes on civilian targets, the same reporting noted.

5 Aug strikes17

7-8 Aug strikes3

5 Aug strikes

17 dead

7-8 Aug strikes

3 dead

Data from the article text

Diplomatic efforts and Patriot refusal

Zelensky traveled to Washington in late July to meet Donald Trump and request Patriot missiles, described as the only systems capable of intercepting Russia's most advanced missiles. According to Franceinfo and rts.ch, citing the Financial Times and several American media, Trump refused the request due to a shortage of Patriot missiles in US stocks since the start of the Middle East war that began in late February. Zelensky, who has multiplied foreign trips to shore up international support, arrived in Serbia on Friday evening for his first visit to the traditional Russian ally since the 2022 invasion. He is scheduled to meet President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday to discuss the economy and security questions.

New US sanctions

The latest attack on Kyiv came as US senators adopted new sanctions against Russia on Friday, rts.ch reported. The sanctions particularly target the hydrocarbon industry.