At least 15 dead after hours-long Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv, children's hospital damaged

Key developments:

• At least 15 dead and dozens injured in Kyiv.
• Attack lasted into late morning with sporadic drones and air alerts issued throughout the day.
• A children's hospital and a kindergarten were among buildings damaged.
• Several warehouses storing food for grocery chains were also hit.
• Aug. 21 has been declared a day of mourning in Kyiv.
• Attack comes as Ukraine faces chronic shortage of interceptor missiles.

Russia launched a large ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv shortly after midnight on Aug. 20, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more, officials reported.

Numerous consecutive explosions were reported in several parts of the city beginning just after midnight local time. Another round of explosions occurred at 6:17 a.m. amid the hours-long attack.

"There were two explosions at the same time like nothing I'd ever heard before," Galina Morozova, a resident of a building damaged in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district, told the Kyiv Independent.

"I didn't see any light, just sound. And that's it, I was covered. I was lying under a blanket and was covered with glass, blinds, and bits from the frame. But thank God I wasn't hurt."

A brief all-clear sounded at 8:36 a.m, but another alert was issued around 30 minutes later with reports of Russian Banderol missiles heading toward Kyiv. Another all-clear was issued at 11:10 a.m. but further alerts, reports of drones, and explosions were heard in the capital throughout the day.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least 15 people had died and emergency services were still working at the scene of the attacks. Aug. 21 has been declared a day of mourning in the city, he added in a post on social media.

President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said around 40 people had been injured.

"It was a massive attack," Zelensky said in a post on social media. "The Russians had been preparing for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure."

Kyiv burns under Russian missile fire

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 44 cruise missiles, two Banderol missiles, and 168 Shahed-type drones during the attack. It said it had intercepted 39 cruise missiles, both Banderols, and 145 drones. The military did not specify how many ballistic or hypersonic missiles were launched or intercepted in line with Ukraine's new, controversial reporting policy.

As the attack was underway, the Air Force warned of ballistic missiles heading toward the capital, as well as Russian Zircon missiles launched from Russia's Kursk Oblast in the direction of Kyiv. Amid the attack, Poland's Air Force said it scrambled fighter jets to protect Polish airspace.

Russian missiles and drones struck 28 locations, the Air Force said after the strike.

The initial blasts caused houses to shake and set off car alarms in parts of the city just after midnight, the Kyiv Independent's Nadia Pahava reported. Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko reported a "strong smell of smoke in central Kyiv."

In the Solomianskyi district, debris fell near a five-story residential building, blowing out windows and causing a fire, according to Klitschko. Another building was damaged between the eighth and ninth floors.

Olena Postoyuk, a resident of one of the damaged apartment buildings, told the Kyiv Independent she lived in the Darnytskyi district until May 24 when a Russian missile destroyed her home, forcing her to stay with relatives.

"All I'm left with is what I'm wearing at the moment," she said.

A children's hospital building in the district was also damaged, with windows blown out and cars burning on the hospital grounds. Damage was also reported at residential buildings, an unspecified "educational institution," as well as several warehouses.

Many of the warehouses that came under fire housed food for grocery stores, reflecting a new tactic in Russian aerial strikes. In early August, Russia began targeting food storage facilities with ballistic missiles, causing disruptions in supplies of staples such as vegetables, dairy, and meat.  

Following the overnight attack on Kyiv, the supermarket chain EKO Market reported that one of its warehouses was damaged, posting photos of a heavily burned building. No EKO Market employees were harmed.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure that our customers have the necessary goods on our shelves," the company said in a social media post.

A warehouse in Kyiv Oblast storing fresh produce for the grocery chain Fora was also damaged. Employees were safely evacuated ahead of the attack, the company said. The damaged warehouse had only been operational for about a week due to previous Russian attacks on Fora logistics hubs.

Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi also reported damage to food warehouses and Red Cross facilities in Boryspil, east of Kyiv.  

Morning brings litany of casualties, more attacks

Klitschko reported that at least 14 injured victims were hospitalized as a result of the attack.

Into the morning hours, amid a subsequent wave of attacks, a smell of smoke lingered in the air over the city, according to War Editor Chris York. Sounds of jet-powered drones flying overhead could be heard in the Pechersk district of the city.

In the nearby community of Brovary in Kyiv Oblast, one man was killed and eight others injured in the attack, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. Earlier, Regional Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko reported that an unspecified "industrial" facility was damaged.

Later on Aug. 20, three more explosions were heard in Kyiv as drones targeted energy infrastructure in the capital.

"Unit transformers were hit but they were not in operation and were still being repaired after winter attack. So no consequences for consumers," an official in the energy sector told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.

Air defense crisis deepens

The latest attack on the capital comes as 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.

"Give us something to shoot down these missiles, because nothing gets shot down," Postoyuk said. "When there were (interceptor) missiles, it was calmer. The sky was closed, peaceful people didn't suffer.

"And what kind of war is this, if they shoot, kill peaceful people. The war should be somewhere on the front line, not in the center of Ukraine."

Patriot is one of the handful systems in the world that can effectively engage incoming ballistic and hypersonic missiles. Other systems provided to Ukraine by Western partners, such as the Franco-Italian SAMP/T, are unable to engage ballistic missiles, Colonel Yurii Ihnat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, previously told the Kyiv Independent.

The president has called on Ukraine's allies to respond to the urgent shortage in air defenses.

"Unfortunately, while Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should from the world," Zelensky said. "And as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic defense, Russia will not consider peace seriously."

Ukraine is also attempting to build its own indigenous anti-ballistic missile air defense system. Fire Point, the Ukrainian defense concern behind the highly effective FP-1 and FP-2 strike drones and the "Flamingo" cruise missiles, has been developing the "Freya" air defense system, specifically designed to engage incoming ballistic missiles.