Kyiv under fire: the August 2026 strikes and the missile shortage
A look back at the Russian attacks on Kyiv reported in the days before 11 August 2026, and the interceptor gap that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described.
What did the days leading up to 11 August 2026 look like for Kyiv? They were marked by a series of Russian attacks that left civilians dead and raised pointed questions about air defence.
On 5 August, Russian forces launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at Kyiv. At least 17 people were killed, including eight civilians at a railway station in Kyiv Oblast, and dozens more were wounded. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said none of the missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian forces because of a shortage of Patriot missiles.
Three days later, on 8 August, Zelenskyy reported that a drone strike by Russian forces in Kyiv had killed a 3-year-old boy and his grandparents.
Taken together, the two reports set out the picture as it stood going into 11 August: heavy losses among civilians, and a president publicly naming a shortage of Patriot missiles as the reason a ballistic attack went unintercepted.
