On the night of August 1, Ukraine faced an air attack of unprecedented scale. The assault demonstrated the critical vulnerability of the modern defense system: even advanced air defense systems are powerless without a sufficient stockpile of interceptor missiles.
This was reported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his Telegram channel. According to him, the Russian side used a colossal amount of ammunition against the country, with the main blow hitting the capital.
Scale of the attack and the shortage of "Patriots"
According to the head of state, in one night Russia launched 35 missiles at Ukraine, 27 of which were ballistic. In addition, 185 strike drones of various types were spotted in the sky. Despite the activity of Ukrainian crews, only one ballistic missile was shot down.
Zelensky directly pointed to the reason for the defense failure: the lack of missiles for Patriot systems. "Only one ballistic missile was shot down tonight simply because there are no missiles for Patriot. And it is precisely this shortage of interceptors against ballistic missiles that only encourages Russia to launch such strikes against life," the president emphasized.
The head of state called on Western partners to accelerate the delivery of air and missile defense systems. He noted that these resources are needed not for storage "for a rainy day," but for immediate use to stop the war on Ukrainian territory. "Every package of anti-ballistic missiles saves the lives of our people. And every night when they are not there leads to casualties," Zelensky stated.
Consequences of the strike on Kyiv
The night attack on Kyiv and the region had severe consequences. As a result of the shelling, nine people were killed and another 30 were injured, including four children.
Damage and fires were recorded in five districts of the capital: Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Dniprovskyi, and Pecherskyi. Among the damaged objects is the building of the Lithuanian Embassy in Ukraine. The events of the night of August 1 once again raised the question of the urgency of replenishing stocks of interceptor missiles to protect the civilian population.
