Kyiv missile strike kills three as Ukraine navigates defence leadership shift
A ballistic missile attack on Kyiv left at least three people dead and 20 injured, coinciding with the parliamentary confirmation of a new defence minister and growing calls for elections under wartime law.
Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv shortly after midnight on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 20 others. The strike impacted the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts, causing significant damage to residential infrastructure and a children’s hospital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a nine-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district collapsed and caught fire following the impact. He stated that a children’s hospital in the same area was damaged, with windows shattered and vehicles burning on the grounds. Klitschko noted that people were trapped in another residential building and that parts of the Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts were without electricity.
Ukraine’s Air Force identified incoming ballistic missiles and Russian Zircon missiles fired from Russia’s Kursk region. Of the 20 individuals wounded in the strike, at least 14 have been hospitalised. The attack occurred as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced domestic political pressure following recent changes in the government’s security leadership.
The Ukrainian parliament confirmed Yevhenii Khmara as the new defence minister with a vote of 312-2, well above the required majority. Khmara is a career intelligence official who previously led the Alpha special operations unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). His appointment fills the vacancy left by Mykhailo Fedorov, who was ousted in July following a public rupture with the armed forces commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii.
Opposition lawmaker Solomiia Bobrovska described the appointment of Khmara as “a mistake,” despite praising him personally. Zelenskyy called the confirmation a sign that Ukraine needs more strength. The political turmoil intensified after Fedorov released a video a day before Khmara’s confirmation, arguing that Ukraine faces a “systemic crisis of governance” and calling for elections.
Demonstrations took place in Kyiv on Wednesday in support of Fedorov’s call for elections. Ukrainian law currently bars elections during wartime, a provision in effect since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Zelenskyy’s term ended in May 2024, but the presidential election has been postponed due to continuing martial law.
