Ukraine pleads for air defence missiles as Russian attack on Kyiv kills 17
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- Russia struck Kyiv and the surrounding region on Wednesday with 24 ballistic missiles, four Zircon cruise missiles, and 115 drones, killing at least 17 and injuring more than 40; Ukrainian air defenses downed roughly 90% of the drones but failed to intercept any of the ballistic missiles.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said deliveries of air defense missiles to Ukraine are now three times smaller than in 2025 and that 'ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today,' urging allies to replenish supplies.
- Patriot interceptors earmarked for Ukraine have been diverted to the U.S. military and U.S. allies in the Gulf since the Iran war broke out in February, leaving Ukraine without the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing Russia's ballistic missiles, which travel at many times the speed of sound.
- At a commuter station in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, eight people were killed and five logistics warehouses hit, including food retailer Fozzy; Ukrainian retailers Epicentr, Silpo (where at least six employees were killed), and Rozetka saw key logistics facilities destroyed, with the Kyiv regional administration reporting 13 warehouses damaged plus a manufacturing facility and four private homes.
- Ukraine retaliated overnight by hitting a logistics hub of Russian online retailer Wildberries, adding to more than a dozen Russian facilities it has damaged recently as Kyiv aims to bring the war back to Russia.
- The United States is pressing ahead with talks to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles, even after President Donald Trump cast doubt on such a deal, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.
Why it matters: Ukraine's inability to intercept any of 24 ballistic missiles is a direct, traceable consequence of Patriot missiles being diverted to the Gulf since the Iran war began in February. With Kyiv now hit every three to four days and civilian logistics networks like Silpo, Epicentr, and Rozetka sustaining major damage, the operational cost of that diversion is being measured in dead commuters at suburban train platforms and destroyed civilian warehouses.
