Russian Night Attack on Ukraine: At Least 15 Dead in Kyiv
Russian forces launched a massive combined assault on Ukraine's capital and surrounding areas, while the conflict simultaneously expands to civilian targets in Russia.
Russian forces launched a massive combined assault on Ukraine's capital and surrounding areas, while the conflict simultaneously expands to civilian targets in Russia.
At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in an overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Ukrainian authorities reported on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. This is the latest in a series of deadly strikes that have escalated in recent weeks, with attacks hitting residential buildings and warehouse complexes.
Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, announced that the air defense system was active after Russian forces launched ballistic missiles at the city. "The defense forces are operating in the capital and its outskirts. More missiles are heading toward the city," Klitschko wrote. AFP journalists heard explosions in the city after midnight, with one reporter describing dark smoke and a sharp smell of burning that lingered in the air for hours.
According to data published by Ukrainska Pravda, at least 48 people were injured in the attack, while Italy's ANSA agency reports around 20 injured. The Kyiv military administration confirmed the death of one woman in the capital, where at least 24 people were injured after strikes sparked fires in four city districts.
"The enemy is again deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure," the Kyiv military administration said on Telegram. In the Kyiv region, 14 people were killed and more than 20 injured, regional authorities confirmed. The head of the Kyiv regional military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on Telegram: "The Kyiv region has again endured one of its most tragic enemy attacks tonight. Russia has again brought death and destruction to our land, taking the lives of civilians. Justice will surely follow for every such crime."
Simultaneously with Ukrainian reports, news arrives of Ukrainian strikes on targets within Russia. Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov reported that on Tuesday, August 4, a drone attack on an industrial zone in the town of Novoselki in the Chekhov district killed five people and injured six. "Multiple fires broke out in the industrial zone of Novoselki," Vorobyov stated. In a separate incident, a soldier in the town of Khmelnitsky near Sevastopol opened fire on colleagues and civilians, killing four and wounding four others, ANSA reports.
The day before, a Ukrainian drone struck a beach in the Russian resort town of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea. Eight people were killed in that attack, including four children, and 58 were injured, according to Russia's children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. She added that three children remain hospitalized. Ukrainian forces also attacked logistics facilities of the Russian e-commerce company Wildberries in Krasny Bor and Emmaus, causing fires. Moscow's mayor announced on Wednesday that air defense had intercepted and destroyed at least 10 drones approaching the capital, while the governor of the Tula region said that as many as 107 Ukrainian drones were destroyed, with two residential buildings damaged.
In separate attacks across Ukraine, Russian guided bombs killed a woman and two girls aged 5 and 10 in Sumy. In Mykolaiv, an 89-year-old woman was killed. In Zaporizhzhia, a Russian Molniya drone struck a regional children's hospital, damaging the facade and windows. Regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov stated: "Fortunately, when the alarm sounded, all the children and medical staff were in shelters. There were no casualties."
Turkey reported that two of its ships, after departing from the Russian port of Novorossiysk, were attacked by drones, injuring crew members. "We are seriously concerned about the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea, which is also affecting civilian vessels, despite all our warnings," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Brazilian President Lula da Silva. The press office of the Russian presidential administration said Putin "expressed gratitude to his Brazilian counterpart for his desire to contribute to finding a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict."
Ukraine also expressed outrage over a video from Kherson showing a civilian being chased by a drone, calling it a deliberate "hunt" and "safari." President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump last Tuesday lobbying for licenses for domestic production of Patriot systems, warned that the lack of interceptors for ballistic missiles "only encourages Russia to carry out such attacks."
