Russian ballistic missile barrage kills nine in Kyiv, damages Lithuanian embassy; Ukraine intercepted only one of 27 Iskanders

The overnight assault

Russian forces launched a large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight on 31 July into 1 August. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired 35 missiles: four Zircon/Onyx anti-ship missiles, 27 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, two Kh-31 anti-radar missiles, and two Kh-59/69 guided missiles. An additional 185 attack drones (Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas types, plus loitering munitions) were launched from Russian territory and occupied Ukrainian regions. Air defences destroyed or suppressed 156 of the 220 incoming targets by 09:30: two of the 35 missiles, one Iskander-M/S-400 and one Kh-59/69, and 154 of the drones. Hits were recorded at 21 locations. Kyiv was the primary target, but strikes also hit the regions of Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava.

Casualties and damage

Nine people died and more than 30 were wounded, four of them children, and 17 of the injured were taken to hospital. Five fatalities occurred in the Darnitsia district when a missile struck residents running toward a shelter; a second missile hit as neighbours tried to help the wounded, killing two more. In the Solomianski district, two people died and a five-storey residential building was partially destroyed and caught fire. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack caused fires and destruction across five districts of the capital: Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Shevchenkivskyi and Pecherskyi.

As soon as the alarm sounded, I barely had time to get out into the hallway, to the entrance of the building, and everything started shaking.

Another resident, Oksana, described the scene: she heard "explosions really terrifying" and then "the glass started falling like rain, people started coming out and the explosions continued."

Zelensky: one ballistic missile intercepted

President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that Ukrainian air defences intercepted only one of the 27 incoming ballistic missiles. He directly linked the outcome to a shortage of Patriot systems and interceptor missiles.

It is precisely this shortage of interceptor missiles against ballistic projectiles that only encourages Russia to continue launching this kind of attack, which cost human lives.

Zelensky urged partners to provide the systems "here and now, to be able to contain and stop the Russian war in Ukraine" rather than storing them "in some warehouse for possible future scenarios." He added that every night without them brings more casualties.

Lithuanian embassy hit

Zelensky said 18 buildings, a school, the Lithuanian embassy and infrastructure facilities were damaged. Lithuania's foreign minister published images of the damage; the mission suffered only minor damage and none of its staff were hurt. In Poltava, Russian strikes hit critical infrastructure and a logistics terminal, regional authorities said.

The Patriot impasse

Ukraine has been pressing allies for more Patriot batteries and PAC-3 interceptor missiles for months. Zelensky met with Donald Trump at the White House earlier in the week to discuss producing Patriot systems on Ukrainian soil. On 31 July, Trump told reporters that no decision had been taken.

These weapons are extraordinary. We have to be very careful before authorising anyone to produce them. We have not yet given our consent. The matter is still being discussed.

Russian response and Ukrainian strikes

Moscow's Defence Ministry described the operation as a "massive attack" targeting "facilities of the military-industrial complex and logistics centres in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region" involved in the production, storage, and transport of missiles, drones, radar stations, and electronic warfare systems. Separately, Russian civil aviation authorities imposed temporary restrictions on departures and arrivals at eight airports (Bugulma, Kazan, Nizhnekamsk/Begishevo, Nizhny Novgorod/Chkalov, Orenburg, Samara/Kurumoch, Saratov/Gagarin, and Cheboksary) following Ukrainian drone strikes. Russia's Defence Ministry stated that 274 Ukrainian drones were intercepted overnight over 17 Russian regions, including the Moscow region, occupied Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.