On Wednesday, Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region resulted in the deaths of 17 people and injuries to 44 others, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The strikes involved 24 ballistic missiles, four additional missiles identified as either hypersonic Zircons or supersonic Oniks, and 115 jet-powered drones. These attacks aimed at civilian warehouses, infrastructure, and a railway station, including a brewing company and logistics facilities that were unrelated to the war, Zelenskyy claimed.

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The Russian attack marked another instance of widespread missile strikes, frequent during the summer. Ukraine is constrained by a limited supply of interceptor missiles for U.S.-made Patriot systems, which are the sole air defense capable of countering ballistic missiles. This limitation makes large-scale attacks like this one difficult to thwart even as Ukraine intensifies its efforts against Russian oil refineries and energy targets.

Ballistic interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today. Zelenskyy emphasized the need for timely support from international partners in supplying these systems.

Within the wider Kyiv region, fires broke out in several locations, including Brovary, Bucha, and Fastiv districts, as reported by Ukraine’s emergency service. Major warehouse fires were reported in Brovary and the villages of Velyka Dymerka, Kvitneve, and Peremoha. In the Fastiv district, a fire involving vehicles was extinguished, while crews in the Bucha district managed a warehouse fire in Chaiky after controlling another in Sofiivska Borshchahivka.

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In Kyiv, emergency personnel dealt with fires caused by the attacks in the Obolonskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Holosiivskyi, and Desnianskyi districts, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser on defense technology development for Ukraine’s president, stated that the conflict had reached a new stage. The Russian forces are targeting a broad range of facilities, including retail warehouses, food storage, logistics hubs, and enterprises, indiscriminately.

Epicentr, a leading retail and construction chain in Ukraine, was significantly impacted. Their statement on Facebook described extensive destruction due to Russian missiles, resulting in one employee’s death and injuries to three others. Russia’s attack destroyed two of the company’s vital logistics hubs and the production floor of its ceramic tile factory, forcing relocation of production overseas with recovery projected to take up to two years.

Dan Bashakov / AP

The Ukrainian campaign has also targeted Russian logistics, attacking multiple Wildberries warehouses—a key Russian retail chain—in attempts to impact Russia’s economy and bring awareness to the Russian populace about the war’s costs.