Russia launched 41 missiles and 125 attack drones at Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding more than three dozen in what Ukrainian officials described as the largest ballistic missile assault on Kyiv since Moscow's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Ukrainian forces shot down 18 of the missiles and 108 of the drones, according to the country's air force. Of the 41 missiles, 25 were ballistic, the class of weapon Ukraine's Patriot batteries are best equipped to intercept and for which the government has warned it is running short of interceptors. Kyiv's forces struck back within hours, hitting three oil depots in Russia's Stavropol region, three Russian shadow-fleet tankers in the Black Sea and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's export terminal near the port of Novorossiysk.
What Kyiv absorbed
The attack began about 1:30 a.m. local time and spanned six districts of the capital, according to Ukraine's national police. Fires broke out in five districts, damaging apartment blocks, a dormitory, offices and industrial buildings, the State Emergency Service said. One person was killed and 16 wounded in the capital. In Kharkiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said three men aged between 24 and 62 died in a strike on a postal terminal in the city's suburbs, and 20 others were injured.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the raid as "one of the most massive ballistic attacks" on the capital since the start of the war. The Ukrainian air force said the arsenal included Iskander short-range and hypersonic Zircon missiles alongside the 125 drones. Russia's defense ministry said the targets were military-linked, including a facility "used for storing dual-use goods and assembling drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment."
The counterstrike
Zelensky said on Telegram that Ukraine's security service and armed forces had hit "three oil depots in the Stavropol region simultaneously" and struck "another fuel-sector facility in the same region." He said Ukrainian units had also recorded precise hits on three Russian shadow-fleet tankers in the Black Sea. Stavropol's governor said a drone attack ignited a fire in an industrial park.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries Kazakh oil to Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, said its terminal was hit and two tankers damaged, prompting oil-loading operations to be suspended. There were no injuries or oil spills, the consortium said. Ukraine said earlier this month it had disabled nearly 43 percent of Russia's oil-refining capacity through long-range drone strikes.
Interceptor math
Moscow's shift toward saturation attacks with ballistic weapons has strained the mix of Patriot and other Western-supplied interceptors on which Ukraine relies. During a Russian barrage earlier this month, Ukrainian forces intercepted no ballistic missiles at all, according to Kyiv. Sunday's interception rate suggests a partial replenishment of stocks. Zelensky said Sunday that "Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now" and that "Interceptors are needed every day." He added that Russia had "used about 1,450 strike drones, more than 1,640 guided bombs and 99 missiles of various types against Ukraine" in the past week.
The other side
Sunday's reporting relied on Ukrainian officials and written statements from Russia's defense ministry; independent verification of either side's target claims was not available. No Russian- or right-leaning outlet was represented in the day's dossier. Domestic pressure on Zelensky has intensified since his July 16 dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, which prompted street protests in Kyiv and, Al Jazeera reported, dismay among Ukrainian soldiers who credited Fedorov with recent battlefield gains.
President Trump said at a NATO conference earlier this month that he is prepared to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, according to CBS News. Details and a timeline for that arrangement remain unclear.