Missile Attack on Kyiv Kills at Least Four as Trump Backtracks on Patriot Production — Russian Strike Destroys US-Owned Drone Factory

1 August 2026 | Kyiv, Washington, Moscow — Updated 16:30 GMT

Kyiv was once again under attack by ballistic missiles early on Saturday as Donald Trump retreated further from a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defence interceptors. At least four people were killed, Kyiv's military administration said, while the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said more than a dozen were wounded in the Russian attack.

The attack comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Trump and other US officials to help Ukraine gain permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use satellite internet service Starlink for guiding strikes inside Russia.

Donald Trump has backed off a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, telling reporters that handing over the underlying technology was "a hard thing to give away" during a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

Meanwhile, a drone factory in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile on Friday was owned by a US corporation registered in Delaware, in what appears to be the first time Moscow has targeted a US defence company in the conflict.

Welcome to the latest from the Russia-Ukraine war — where diplomacy, defence, and destruction collide.

Missile Attack on Kyiv Kills at Least Four

Kyiv was once again under attack by ballistic missiles early on Saturday as Donald Trump retreated further from a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defence interceptors. At least four people were killed, Kyiv's military administration said, while the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said more than a dozen were wounded in the Russian attack. More than a dozen explosions reverberated through the city, and residents were warned to stay in shelters.

The attack comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Trump and other US officials to help Ukraine gain permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use satellite internet service Starlink for guiding strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, according to one person familiar with the matter. He also reportedly told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink's help. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy's request. Musk allows Starlink use within Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, but restricts it inside Russia.

Trump Backtracks from Promise to Let Ukraine Build Patriot Missiles

Donald Trump has backed off a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, telling reporters that handing over the underlying technology was "a hard thing to give away" during a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

The retreat, billed by the White House as "something different" for the cabinet to experience together, was the first such meeting at the presidential compound of Trump's second term.

It also became the venue for the US president to unpick, in real time, a commitment he made to Volodymyr Zelenskyy just a few days earlier.

Asked whether he was ready to grant Kyiv a license to build Patriots domestically – something he had suggested at a Nato summit in Turkey just this month, and which the Ukrainian president described as a productive topic in their White House meeting on Tuesday – Trump was noncommittal.

Giving away the weapons carried its own risks, he added: "People that you give that technology [to], they can some day turn on you. You know that is possible."

The interceptor travels at "8,600 miles an hour", Trump explained, adding for context: "If you go 60, it gets to be a little fast."

He went on to recall an occasion on which five missiles were fired "at Jordan" and were shot down in sequence – rendered by the president as "bing bing bing bing".

"Nobody else has that capacity," he said of the system, before concluding that Washington "will be building many plants" to produce Patriots and Tomahawk missiles domestically – just not, for now, in Ukraine.

Russian Missile Destroys US-Owned Drone Factory in Kyiv

A drone factory in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile on Friday was owned by a US corporation registered in Delaware, in what appears to be the first time Moscow has targeted a US defence company in the conflict.

Terminal Autonomy makes precision "deep-strike" drones with guidance systems that are resistant to Russian jamming signals, according to a person familiar with the company.

The phrase "terminal autonomy" refers to the final phase of a kamikaze drone's attack in which AI takes over control of the weapon after the defending force jams radio waves or mobile service.

State records show that the corporation was registered in Delaware in 2023. The company's website says: "We deploy AI-guided loitering munitions and precision munitions, which are already in active service against enemy assets on the frontline."

Anthony Vinci, a former senior US intelligence officer who wrote The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America, said: "The Russians don't care who owns the manufacturing facility. It's still a target. They don't care if it's American or someone else's."

Zelenskyy Pushes to Use Starlink for Attacks in Russia

Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, according to one person familiar with the matter. He also reportedly told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink's help. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy's request. Musk allows Starlink use within Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, but restricts it inside Russia.

Thousands Rally in Kyiv Over Fedorov's Dismissal

Several thousand Ukrainians rallied in central Kyiv on Friday, angry about Zelenskyy's decision to oust the defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov is widely credited with driving military innovation during Ukraine's war with Russia. But having taken charge of the wartime ministry in January, he was dismissed in a surprise government reshuffle in mid-July. Since then, Ukrainians have been gathering next to the presidential office, pushing for Fedorov to be reinstated as he refused to accept another government post.

Russia Warns Ukrainian Drone Attacks Could Shut Down Grain Exports

Russia's main grain lobby group warned on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ships and ports could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, also a large agricultural exporter, have been attacking each other's facilities and vessels in the Black Sea area in recent weeks, driving wheat prices higher.

The disruption to shipping in the Black Sea caused by Ukrainian attacks "poses a direct threat to global food security", Russia's Union of Grain Exporters and Producers told Reuters.

Wildberries Founder Complains of 'Acts of Terrorism'

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries amount to "acts of terrorism" against civilians, affecting millions of people in Russia and other countries, the company's founder and CEO, Tatyana Kim, complained on Friday. Ukraine has attacked more than a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a vendor to the Russian war effort and linchpin of Russia's consumer economy.

---

Stay updated with the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war on our Russia-Ukraine War Page.