Russian attacks kill 17, exploiting Ukraine’s lack of missile interceptors

Russia has pounded Kyiv and surrounding areas with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least 17 people, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns lives could have been saved had allies replenished its stocks of missile interceptors .

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Telegram that cleanup operations were under way following what it described as a “massive attack”, which took place overnight on Tuesday. Among the sites struck were warehouse facilities in the city of Brovary, while a fire broke out at another warehouse in the city of Bucha.

Zelenskyy said in a post on X that Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 115 drones during the assault. He also said such “horrific casualties and destruction” were a direct result of Ukraine’s shortage of missile interceptors.

“The main targets of the attack were warehouse facilities belonging to civilian businesses,” Zelenskyy said.

“There were also strikes on infrastructure and a railway station. These facilities had nothing to do with the war – a brewing company, construction materials warehouses, and civilian logistics facilities,” he said.

“Ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today. It is very important that our partners understand that delays in supplying them, or an unwillingness to provide anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.”

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy, accused Moscow of targeting civilian infrastructure in a post on Facebook.

“The war of attrition has entered its next phase. The enemy is attacking everything in its path: retail warehouses, food warehouses, logistics hubs, enterprises, and construction material warehouses,” Beskrestnov said.