Russian missile, drone barrage in Ukraine kills 17

Kyiv, Aug 5: Russian attacks on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 17 people and wounded dozens, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, as Ukraine’s depleted air defences failed to stop any of Moscow’s incoming missiles overnight. The barrage, which lasted about two hours, was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian missile strikes that have become almost routine this summer. Moscow is exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the US-made Patriot systems, the sole air defence weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles. (AP)