Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv region kills 17, injures 44

Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region killed 17 people and wounded 44 others overnight into Wednesday Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidRussia fired 24 ballistic missiles four other missiles identified as either hypersonic Zircons or supersonic Oniks and 115 drones many of them jetpowered in the attackZelenskyy said the strikes mainly targeted warehouses belonging to civilian businesses as well as infrastructure and a railway station hitting sites that he described as with no connection to the war including a brewing company building materials warehouses and civilian logistics facilitiesThe attack was the latest in a series of largescale Russian ballistic missile strikes that have become nearroutine this summer Ukraine has a limited stockpile of interceptor missiles for the USmade Patriot systems the sole air defense system in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles making large volleys like Wednesdays hard to stop even as Ukraine has stepped up deep strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy infrastructureBallistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram It is very important for our partners to understand that delays in supplying them or a reluctance to hand over antiballistic systems lead directly to such horrific casualties and destructionIn the wider Kyiv region around the capital there were fires at multiple locations in Brovary Bucha and Fastiv districts Ukraines emergency service said Large warehouse fires burned in the city of Brovary and the villages of Velyka Dymerka Kvitneve and PeremohaA fire involving vehicles at an enterprise in Fastiv district was extinguishedIn Bucha district crews battled a warehouse fire in the village of Chaiky after putting out a separate fire at a logistics facility in Sofiivska BorshchahivkaIn the capital emergency crews extinguished all fires sparked by the strikes in the Obolonskyi Sviatoshynskyi Holosiivskyi and Desnianskyi districts the Kyiv City Military Administration saidSerhii Beskrestnov an adviser to Ukraines president on defense technology development said the war of attrition has entered a new phaseThe enemy is attacking everything indiscriminately retail warehouses food storage facilities logistics hubs enterprises building materials warehouses he said on FacebookOne of the companies that came under heavy fire was Epicentr one of Ukraines largest retail and construction chainsIt said in a statement on Facebook that in minutes Russian missiles destroyed what the company had built over decades One employee was killed and three others were wounded Russia hit two of the companys key logistics hubsA direct hit also destroyed the production floor of its ceramic tile factory forcing the company to halt manufacturing there and shift production abroad with full recovery expected to take up to two years the company said Epicentr also voiced support for other Ukrainian businesses damaged in the attack saying it understood how many years of work effort faith and daily responsibility stand behind every enterpriseUkraine has carried out its own campaign against Russian retail logistics striking multiple warehouses belonging to Wildberries often described as Russias answer to Amazon as part of a broader effort to damage Moscows economy and confront Russians with the costs of the warThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever