Russia launched 376 missiles at Ukraine in July, the highest monthly total since May 2022, as Ukraine faced a severe shortage of Western-made interceptors. The attacks killed and wounded civilians, including 12 people killed and more than 100 wounded when two missiles struck a Kyiv sports centre on July 24.
Ukraine’s air-defence shortage is affecting both residential areas and critical infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on August 12 that Kyiv had about one-tenth of the interceptors it needed, while Ukrainian officials appealed to 40 countries for additional supplies.
A record month of attacks
Russia’s July missile total exceeded the 288 missiles launched in March and the 192 launched in July 2025. It also sent nearly 5,000 long- and short-range drones and hundreds of guided bombs, some of which collapsed buildings in front-line areas.
The July 24 attack in Kyiv killed Valentyna Savitska, a 32-year-old border security officer and mother of two. Her husband, Ihor Solovey, said their 15-year-old son wanted to join the military in what he described as revenge for his mother, while their 11-year-old daughter was recovering with psychological support.
Related coverage: Kyiv court detains organiser of weapons expo hit by Russian missile attack.
Why interceptors matter
Three Russian missiles flew towards Kyiv on July 24, but Ukraine’s air defence destroyed only one. The other two hit a sports centre hosting a drone exhibition, causing more than 100 injuries and 12 deaths.
The source material says PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems cost several million dollars each, and about 50 can be manufactured monthly at Lockheed Martin’s factory in Arkansas. Ukrainian officials said the United States redirected supplies to Middle East allies and increased its own strategic stockpile.
Damage to homes and infrastructure
A separate missile strike on July 2 became Kyiv’s deadliest attack of the war, killing 31 people and injuring more than 100. Kateryna Babych said the blast destroyed much of her apartment building and injured her son Dmitry, who suffered a concussion and a torn meniscus.
More context: Kyiv reports fires after early-morning missile attack.
Russian attacks have also hit Odesa’s seaport, disrupting shipments of grain, vegetable oil and steel slabs. Ukraine has responded with strikes on Russian ports, oil terminals and cargo ships in the Black Sea and occupied Sea of Azov ports.
The wider effect on the war and food trade
Ukrainian military analyst Ihor Romanenko said Kyiv also needed crews for Patriot systems and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles to target Russia’s ballistic-missile production chain. He said Russia’s plants were producing up to 300 ballistic and cruise missiles a month.
The mutual disruption of grain exports, combined with droughts and heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere, pushed year-to-year wheat prices 30 percent higher in early August. The source material says the suspension of exports is expected to affect Middle Eastern countries including Egypt, Lebanon and Sudan most directly.
Also read: Russia’s July casualties and glide-bomb attacks reached reported highs.
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