Russia launches major ballistic missile attack on Kyiv; 1 killed, 16 injured

Russia launched one of its largest ballistic missile assaults on Kyiv overnight, killing at least one person and injuring 16 others, as Moscow intensified its aerial campaign against Ukraine amid signs of growing pressure on Kyiv's military leadership and air defence capabilities.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia fired more than 40 missiles, including 25 ballistic missiles, in an overnight barrage that struck multiple districts of the capital. Ukrainian authorities said six districts of Kyiv were affected, leaving apartment buildings damaged, vehicles destroyed and residents scrambling for shelter as explosions echoed across the city.

The latest attack forms part of a broader escalation in long-range strikes that has increasingly targeted urban centres, adding to the civilian toll more than five years into the war.

Missile campaign expands as civilian casualties mount

Beyond Kyiv, Russian attacks also hit other parts of Ukraine during the day. In Kharkiv, strikes on a postal logistics facility killed four people and wounded 20, according to regional officials. In the southern port city of Odesa, another attack claimed the life of a teenager and injured 12 others, including a two-year-old child, after an amusement park was struck.

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Russia maintained that its military targeted logistics facilities, military infrastructure and port installations supporting Ukraine's armed forces, while denying deliberately attacking civilians.

The renewed bombardment comes as Ukraine continues to warn of shortages in interceptor missiles for its US-supplied Patriot air defence systems, considered the country's most effective shield against ballistic missile attacks.

Ukrainian officials said air defence units intercepted 17 of the 25 ballistic missiles launched overnight, suggesting that defensive capabilities remain under severe pressure despite recent improvements.

Political tensions add to Kyiv's wartime challenges

Even as the war raged, thousands have been gathering in big cities across Ukraine for three consecutive days to protest at the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Demonstrators also called for the resignation of Ukraine's chief commander Oleksandr Syrsky, who reportedly had demanded Fedorov's dismissal after the two clashed over how to counter the Russian invasion.

Following the protests, two experienced top Ukrainian generals -- the navy and the air assault force chiefs -- backed Syrsky in rare political statements, calling for unity and saying divisions are playing into the enemy's hands.

"It is particularly painful to hear peremptory judgments from people who have never issued combat orders, never taken responsibility for the lives and health of the personnel," said air assault force commander Oleg Apostol, referring to Fedorov's critisism of Syrsky.

Echoing that, navy commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa said: "doubts about the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during wartime are unacceptable. The AFU is perhaps the only institution that stands firmly on its feet, no matter what."

Fedorov, 35, who never served in the army, accused the 60-year-old, Russian-born general Syrsky of dividing the country.

He criticised slow bureaucracy and a lack of flexibility, questioning whether Ukraine could defeat Russia with Syrsky in charge of the army.

Air defence hunger

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Ukraine has suffered from a shortage of air defence projectiles for its US-designed Patriot systems, which are essential for fending off ballistic rounds.

Exploiting the shortage, Russia has intensified its air raids on Kyiv in recent weeks, launching barrages of balistic missiles -- fast, hard to intercept weapons -- roughly once a week.

"Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now. Interceptors are needed every day," Zelenskyy said.

Overnight on Sunday, out of 25 Russian ballistic missiles, 17 were intercepted, the air force said -- a rate suggesting Ukraine's air defence situation might be improving.

On the Russian side, a Ukrainian strike killed one person in the Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Telegram.

Another drone salvo hit the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's terminal near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk -- a key export route for Kazakh oil, partly owned by Chevron and Shell.

Kyiv has in recent months intensified its strikes on Russian territory, disrupting the lives of ordinary Russians -- strikes it calls retribution for more than four years of bombardments against its territory.

With inputs from agencies