Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv kill 17, hit civilian businesses and train station
Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and surrounding areas killed 17 people and wounded 44 others overnight into Wednesday, August 5, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia fired 24 ballistic missiles, four additional missiles, and 115 drones in the attack, which lasted approximately two hours, Ukrainian authorities said. Targets hit included a brewing company, construction material warehouses, a mail sorting center, and a train station.
The overnight barrage was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian ballistic missile strikes that Ukrainian officials and both AP and NPR described as having become near-routine this summer. Zelenskyy said on social media that the strikes targeted civilian businesses with "no connection to the war," including a brewing company, building materials warehouses, and civilian logistics facilities.
Russia's Defense Ministry offered a different account, stating that it struck transport, logistics, and distribution centers with ties to military activity. The ministry listed four targets in Kyiv and described them as handling dual-use goods, including components for drone production and electronic warfare systems. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the two accounts, AP reported.
Ukraine's largest private postal operator, Nova Poshta, said a Russian cluster munition destroyed one of its Kyiv sorting centers. One of Ukraine's largest retail and construction chains, Epicentr, said in a statement that "in minutes, Russian missiles destroyed what the company had built over decades," with one employee killed and three wounded. The Russian Defense Ministry said Epicentr's logistics center handled components for drone production.