A Russian missile attack struck Kyiv Thursday morning, killing and wounding civilians just hours before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s expected arrival for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The powerful explosions echoed across the Ukrainian capital as the city prepared for the high-stakes diplomatic visit. The strike hit two districts in Kyiv.
2+According to Ukraine’s emergency services, two people were killed in the attack, including a teenager, and fires broke out in warehouses and nearby vehicles. Starmer’s visit to Kyiv is one of his final international engagements before he steps down to make way for a new British prime minister.
Starmer and Zelensky are expected to discuss progress in the war against Russia and Britain’s efforts to support Ukraine both militarily and diplomatically. Starmer said he is “proud of what Britain has contributed” and pledged that “our unwavering support for Ukraine will always continue.”
The current attack also comes after Zelensky fired Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov as part of a government reshuffle. Days earlier, Zelensky also dismissed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who had served in the role for just one year.
2+The government changes sparked controversy, with some critics warning they could cause instability during a critical period of the war, Reuters reported. Fedorov had led Ukraine’s war effort, including the technological development that made Kyiv such a formidable adversary.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Fedorov said it had been a “great honor” to serve in the role. He praised his team’s achievements during his tenure, including strengthening Ukraine’s drone program and air defense systems, which significantly increased its forces’ ability to intercept Russian drones and cruise missiles.
Fedorov also revealed that Ukraine successfully tested a ballistic missile, conducted “symbolically, on the day the government was formed.” Nearly five years into the conflict, the toll is heavy on both sides, with Ukraine’s advanced drone campaign reaching extraordinary scale and impact in the past month.
Kyiv has sometimes launched hundreds of drones in a single night, targeting oil refineries, naval vessels, and weapons, demonstrating a growing ability to strike deep inside Russia. Some of these attacks forced Moscow this week to suspend traffic through the gateway to the Black Sea.
2+This key waterway had been beyond Kyiv’s reach for years, limiting the Kremlin’s ability to trade with the rest of the world. But Ukraine is suffering too: June was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, the UN reported this week.
This spike resulted from Russian long-range missiles fired at urban residential buildings. Zelensky has repeatedly appealed to allies to provide additional support in bolstering Ukraine’s depleted air defense systems.
These requests include initial approval from the U.S. to produce its own Patriot interceptors, the only weapon capable of shooting down some of Russia’s most advanced ballistic missiles. In a surprise announcement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey last week, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly gave Ukraine the green light to manufacture the Patriots.
However, Trump was vague in his wording and acknowledged he had not yet discussed the matter with the American manufacturers of the systems. The recent developments underscore the complexity and ongoing challenges of the war in Ukraine, and its dependence on international support.