Russian attacks kill 4 in Kyiv and surrounding region as air defenses fall short

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Four people, including a child, were killed in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding region, local officials said Saturday, as Ukraine hit another oil refinery in Russia.

Residents endure regular drone and missile barrages that Kyiv’s depleted air defenses are struggling to counter amid Moscow’s 4-year-old full-scale invasion, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities have caused fuel shortages and rattled Russians.

Two grandparents and their 3-year-old grandson were killed after multiple Russian drones destroyed their home in the Brovary district of Kyiv region, northeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Saturday.

Three other members of the same family and a neighbor who came to their aid were hospitalized, local authorities said. The attack reduced the house to rubble and wrecked outbuildings and cars.

In the city of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least one other person died in a “strike involving six ballistic missiles against civilian infrastructure.”

In its daily report, Ukraine’s air force said it had downed or intercepted 135 of 151 drones launched by Russia overnight. The attack also involved six ballistic missiles and other guided missiles.

Russia has relentlessly pounded civilian areas of Ukraine, even though Moscow insists its forces target only military facilities.

Moscow is exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the U.S.-made Patriot systems, the sole air defense weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy has pleaded with other countries, especially the U.S., to send more of the ammunition made scarcer by the Iran war. Failing that, he wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or win permission from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit its missile launchers.

Following the latest attacks, Zelenskyy appealed on X for more sanctions to “prevent the production of these ballistic missiles,” along with “anti-ballistic capabilities” and “interceptor missiles.”

Ukraine’s air defenses shot down around 5,300 drones and missiles last month, Ukraine’s defense ministry said Friday, just under 60% of the around 9,000 attack drones and missiles Russia fired in the same period.

In Russia, six people were wounded when a fire broke out at the Ilsky Oil Refinery in the southern Krasnodar region due to debris from a falling drone, local officials said.

Ukraine's General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck the refinery in Krasnodar, along with the Syzran Oil Refinery in the Samara region, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) inside Russia.

The governor of Russia’s Samara region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said drones hit an “industrial enterprise,” but he did not mention the refinery.

Ukraine’s almost daily long-range drone and missile strikes using domestically developed weapons have battered Russian oil facilities for months. The operation has brought a fuel crisis that is embarrassing the Kremlin.

The latest attacks came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived Friday for his first official visit to Serbia, one of the few European countries that have maintained friendly relations with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.

“Important talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said Friday. He added that he will meet with Vucic and Serbia’s Prime Minister Djuro Macut.

Associated Press writer Elise Morton in London contributed to this report.

FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks od during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Firefighters work at the site of a fire after Russian missiles hit a food warehouse near Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Firefighters put out a fire after Russian missiles hit a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

Firefighters put out a fire after Russian missiles hit a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

ELCHE, Spain (AP) — Brighton midfielder Facundo Buonanotte will play for Spanish team Elche this season in what is the Argentine playmaker's fourth loan spell since joining the Premier League club in January 2023.

The 21-year-old Buonanotte, who signed with Brighton from Rosario Central, was loaned to Leicester for the 2024-25 season and split last season between Chelsea and Leeds.

Buonanotte played regularly for Leicester but had trouble getting minutes at both Chelsea and Leeds.

“Facundo is a talented young player who has continued to develop since joining the club,” Brighton sporting director Mike Cave said in the team's announcement late Friday. “This loan gives him the opportunity to play regular football in one of Europe’s top leagues.”

Elche finished 15th in La Liga last season.

“We believe this move will provide an excellent environment for him to gain further experience, and we’ll continue to monitor his progress closely throughout the season,” Cave said.

Buonanotte made his Argentina senior team debut in 2023 against Indonesia and played again for La Albiceleste in 2024 against El Salvador. He wasn't part of the World Cup squad.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Leicester's Facundo Buonanotte during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Manchester City at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)