Russian ballistic missile attack kills 17, injures dozens in Kyiv and surrounding area as rescue efforts continue
Firefighters put out a fire after Russian missiles hit a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 5, 2026. (Dan Bashakov / AP)
on GoogleEditor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A massive Russian ballistic missile and drone attack killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more in Ukraine's capital and Kyiv Oblast overnight as fires engulfed Kyiv and its suburbs, authorities reported on Aug. 5.
In Kyiv Oblast, 16 people were killed and 29 others injured, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported as rescue operations were still underway.
The town of Brovary, around 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of Kyiv, was particularly hard hit, not just by ballistic missiles, but also jet-powered Shahed-type drones.
Vitaliy Vitaliyovych Bihun, head of the Brovarsky District State Administration, said eight people had been killed at a train station in the village of Kvitneve.
Forty-eight-year-old Anastasia told the Kyiv Independent that a warehouse near her home was hit by a drone, while another nearby warehouse was struck by both missiles and drones.
"Everything kept exploding. They were finishing off that warehouse for several hours."
"Everything kept exploding. They were finishing off that warehouse for several hours," she said.
"That was the most terrifying night of my life. God willing, may it be the first and the last, but it was unbelievably frightening."
Anastasia said the blast wave from one ballistic missile was so strong that "even my socks flew off."
"I’d always wondered why, when people survive explosions, their shoes fly off. Well, that’s exactly what happened," she added.
In the capital itself, a 60-year-old woman was killed, and at least 16 others injured, DSNS added.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 24 ballistic and four hypersonic missiles during the attack, as well as 115 Shahed-type drones. None of the missiles were intercepted.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show what Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo who researches missile technology, described to the Kyiv Independent as "obviously" cluster munitions.
"The main target of the attack was the warehouses of civilian enterprises, there were also strikes on infrastructure, a railway station," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media.
"Ballistics interceptors are something that could have saved the lives of those who died today. It is very important that partners realize that delays in their delivery or unwillingness to transfer anti-ballistics leads to such terrible victims and destruction," he added.
Ukraine faces a chronic shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, the only system that can intercept ballistic missiles. Russia has taken advantage of the situation in recent weeks by drastically increasing the numbers used in mass attacks.
Damage was reported in the Brovary, Bucha, and Fastiv districts, with warehouses and vehicles set ablaze in the Russian attack, according to DSNS.
The attack appeared to target logistics and distribution facilities belonging to major Ukrainian shopping companies.
Supermarket chain Silpo said six of its employees were killed when fires broke out at two distribution centers. Iryna Chechotkina, chief executive of online shopping company Rozetka said a distribution warehouse in Brovary had also been destroyed.
"Today I was supposed to post about Rozetka turning 21 — to thank our customers, partners, and team for this long journey we have traveled together," she wrote in a post on Facebook.
"Instead, at night I watched as my life's work burned down after three ballistic missiles hit."
In the capital, damage was recorded at more than seven locations across the city, including the Holosiivskyi, Obolonskyi, Desnianskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.
In the Obolonskyi district, a fire broke out in a 20-story residential building after it was struck by a missile. Another residential building also caught fire, while fires were reported at two warehouse sites.
In the Desnianskyi district, a warehouse caught fire, and missile debris fell near a residential building, Klitschko said.
Authorities also reported a large fire in the Kyiv-Sviatoshynskyi district outside the capital. Emergency services were responding to the affected sites.
Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground first heard loud explosions shortly after 12:20 a.m. local time and said multiple ballistic missiles struck the city. Explosions continued to rock the capital for the next hour.
During that time, Ukraine's Air Force repeatedly warned of additional ballistic missiles heading toward Kyiv before issuing drone alerts beginning at 1:09 a.m. local time.
"Kyiv and the region are under ballistic attack. More missiles at the city," Klitschko wrote in an earlier update. He later warned that missiles were still heading toward the capital and urged residents to remain in shelters.
The attack comes days after another large-scale Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv on Aug. 1 killed at least nine people and injured more than 30 others.
French President Emmanuel Macron in a post on X described Russia's attack as a "policy of terror, carried out with missiles and drones."
"Each new attack reinforces an obvious truth: Russia must pay the price for its aggression and answer for its crimes. Alongside Ukraine, we will not yield to either fatigue or intimidation," he said.
"The European Union and its partners will continue to increase the pressure on Russia, including through new sanctions, while strengthening military support for Ukraine so that it can defend itself and protect its population."
