Russians Celebrate News from Berlin
After another bloody Russian attack on Kyiv leaves 17 civilians dead, the Ukrainian president appeals to allies for interceptor missiles, while German media declare Ukraine's defense nearly broken.
After another bloody Russian attack on Kyiv leaves 17 civilians dead, the Ukrainian president appeals to allies for interceptor missiles, while German media declare Ukraine's defense nearly broken.
In the latest Russian missile attack on Kyiv and its surroundings on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 17 people were killed and dozens were wounded. Russian forces launched 28 missiles, including Tsirkon anti-ship missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, none of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force's own admission.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the target of the attack was military infrastructure, but most of the victims are civilians. The missiles struck civilian facilities, including a Nova Poshta sorting center in Kyiv, where three people were killed and eight were injured. Three ballistic missiles also destroyed the Rozetka distribution warehouse complex. This is the second major attack on civilian infrastructure in the Kyiv region in the last two months; on June 5, 2026, eight people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the Kvitneva railway station in the Brovary district.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately called on international partners to take urgent action following the attack. "Ballistic interceptors are something that could have saved the lives of those who died today. It is very important that partners understand that delays in their delivery or unwillingness to transfer antiballistic systems lead to such terrible casualties and destruction," Zelensky stated. He also appealed to the G7 and the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia, emphasizing that a significant portion of Russia's ballistic missile production is still not under sanctions.
However, the German publication Berliner Zeitung, whose claims were enthusiastically picked up by Russian media, paints a grim picture of Ukraine's prospects for effective defense. "Volodymyr Zelensky sounds increasingly desperate. Kyiv has only one PAC-3 Patriot interceptor missile left. And the likelihood of receiving new missiles has dropped to almost zero," the article states. It adds that Zelensky had negotiated with U.S. President Donald Trump for a license to produce missiles, but Trump backed out less than a week later. "Even Europe cannot help-it is running out of reserves," concludes Berliner Zeitung.
The situation is further complicated by conflicting information about the state of U.S. air defense stockpiles. CNN, citing sources in the Pentagon, reported that the U.S. military has spent about 80 percent of available stockpiles for the key THAAD system. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth sharply denied this information: "This headline is false. CNN, you should be ashamed for airing fake news," he said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth $58.6 billion for the production of Patriot interceptor missiles. However, although this is a huge amount, analysts warn that it will be months, if not years, before these missiles reach the battlefield.
While Kyiv desperately needs air defense, Ukraine continues offensive operations deep into Russian territory. On Tuesday, August 4, it marked 40 days since the start of the wave of Ukrainian attacks on Russia. During that period, Ukrainian forces struck at least 20 Wildberries warehouses, 25 oil refineries, and other oil and gas infrastructure facilities, disabling a third of Russia's oil refining capacity. More than 200 attacks were also carried out on tankers and cargo ships in the Black and Azov Seas.
Russia, however, has dramatically intensified its missile attacks. According to Ukrainian data, 381 missiles were launched at Ukraine in July, more than in any month since the start of the war. The most serious new challenge for Kyiv has become the Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian ports, imposed in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian grain and fuel exports.
Despite the escalation on the ground, Zelensky confirmed on Wednesday Kyiv's readiness for peace negotiations. "We are in daily contact with President Donald Trump's envoys, which is important. At the meeting in Washington, we discussed creating new circumstances that would enable real diplomacy, and we are working on that," he said. He reported that key Ukrainian officials, including Kyrylo Budanov, Rustem Umerov, David Arakhamia, and Serhiy Kyslytsia, had submitted reports on the current phase of negotiations and Moscow's stance. U.S. envoys Witkoff and Kushner are expected to become active as early as August 2026.
The Kremlin, however, continues to publicly insist on achieving the "goals of the military operation," while the Ukrainian President's Office says operations will continue: "Don't bother with all these arguments: 40, 50, 100, 15 days. The main thing is the result."
