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Kyiv faced a missile barrage overnight in which air defenses intercepted none of the ballistic or anti-ship missiles
One solution may involve targeting launchers, an approach Ukrainian forces have used sparingly so far.
Three paths could make such strikes possible; one depends on Elon Musk permitting Starlink use inside Russia.
Maps of the day: Russian movements in the Kharkiv region.
Chart of the day: Russian gains in July according to Black Bird Group.
Videos of the day: Ukrainian troops detain two sleeping Russian soldiers, another strike on Wildberries, an apt slogan near a burning depot, and a Russian assault on vessels near Mykolaiv.

Kyiv endured another night of intense attacks. Russian forces hit military, industrial and civilian sites in the capital and the nearby city of Brovary.

NASA’s FIRMS service, which tracks fires worldwide, shows the impact clearly. The damage in Brovary appears on the right:

The attackers relied on only 115 drones. They used their most potent weapons: Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles plus Zircon anti-ship missiles.

The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed indirectly that none of these missiles were intercepted. The overnight figures tell the story:

0/24 Iskander-M/S-400
0/4 Zircon
98/115 Shahed drones.

Russian forces can therefore strike any chosen target in Ukraine with ballistic missiles. Ukraine lacks sufficient interceptors for Patriot systems, the sole reliable counter, and the latest raid followed the same pattern. Since early July, Russia has launched roughly 150 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv and its outskirts, yet only about seven were downed.

“The war of attrition has reached a new stage. The enemy strikes without distinction: retail warehouses, food depots, logistics hubs, factories and building-supply sites,” drone specialist and former defense adviser Serhii Flash Beskrestnov noted.

Video from the scene showed cluster-munition warheads, which increased the destruction.

By midday Wednesday officials reported at least 17 dead and 44 wounded.

What options remain? Until recently the focus stayed on obtaining more Patriot interceptors. Ukraine now holds very few, and Western partners hesitate to release additional stocks. The Financial Times reported that US President Donald Trump declined the request last week.

Trump also resists allowing domestic production. Even if approved, manufacturing would take time and prove costly.

Another approach now receives more attention. If missiles cannot be stopped in flight, the launchers themselves must be destroyed.

“Ukraine must deflect the arrows and also strike the archers,” retired US Navy admiral and analyst Mark Montgomery wrote in a Washington Post column.

Pro-Ukrainian accounts likewise argue that launcher strikes offer the best short-term way to slow ballistic attacks.

“The previous chief of the General Staff did not make launcher destruction a priority and gave limited support to units that tried. Much of this work occurred outside official channels through informal networks. These missions need strong organization and technology,” former adviser Serhii Sternenko stated. Oryx reports four such systems destroyed so far.

“Russia will continue the attacks unless someone stops or deters them. Strikes on launchers are what I mean,” US analyst Dara Massicot posted on X.

Ukrainian forces have a general idea where Iskander missiles are launched. The sites lie 200 to 250 km from the border. On Wednesday launches came from Bryansk region, as the map indicates.

This video captures a salvo fired from the launchers.

Pinpointing exact positions and striking before the systems fire and move remains difficult.

The Ukrainian site RBC Ukraine noted that Iskander launchers usually stay inside large hangars at air bases.

According to the report, a long-range Ukrainian reconnaissance drone can spot a launcher moving into position and alert the air force. Sending armed aircraft, however, takes too long.

“By the time combat aircraft take off and reach the area, the Iskander system will already have fired,” the site stated.

Military expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap explained that Iskander units need 40 to 50 minutes to reach the launch point and another 20 minutes to prepare. Ukraine rarely has enough time.

Three options are under discussion to improve strikes on Iskander launchers. Own ballistic missiles would help. Ukrainian firm Fire Point is developing FP-7 missiles with the needed 250-300 km range, though they are not yet ready.

“There are not many launch sites. Once they arrive and set up, our ballistic missiles can hit them. Destroying two, three or five systems would force the rest to decide whether to stay or leave, because remaining would be suicide,” Kryvolap told RBC Ukraine.

The second option could move faster yet requires approval from President Trump and, above all, Elon Musk.