Deadly Russian Missile Strike on Kyiv Shakes Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Faces Rising Political Pressure

Russian forces have launched a ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least three people and wounding 20 others, officials reported, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confronts a wave of domestic political turmoil.

Explosions rang out across several districts of Kyiv shortly after midnight on Wednesday, shaking buildings and setting off car alarms, according to the Kyiv Independent. The blasts hit the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts. In the Solomianskyi district, a nine-storey residential building collapsed and caught fire, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated on Telegram. He noted that a children’s hospital in the same area was also damaged, with shattered windows and burning cars on the grounds.

“People are trapped” at another residential building, Klitschko added, while parts of the Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts were left without electricity. “Three people died in the capital,” he confirmed. Ukraine’s Air Force warned of incoming ballistic missiles during the assault, alongside Russian Zircon missiles launched from Russia’s Kursk region. Klitschko urged residents to remain in shelters as the missile threat continued. Out of the 20 injured individuals, 14 required hospitalisation.

The deadly strike occurred just a day after Ukraine’s parliament confirmed Yevhenii Khmara as the nation's new defence minister. Lawmakers approved his appointment by a 312-2 vote, comfortably surpassing the 226 votes required.

Khmara is a career intelligence official who advanced through the ranks of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). He previously led its Alpha special operations unit, whose personnel have been linked to Operation Spiderweb, a drone attack deep inside Russian territory last year. Addressing parliament prior to the vote, Khmara promised to “do everything to defend Ukraine, to reduce Russia’s war potential as much as possible, and to force the enemy into a just peace.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the confirmation as proof that “Ukraine needs more strength. And it will have it.”

However, the appointment drew mixed reactions. Opposition lawmaker Solomiia Bobrovska called moving Khmara away from intelligence duties “a mistake,” despite praising him personally.

Khmara’s confirmation fills the position left vacant by former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was ousted in July following a public disagreement with armed forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii. Syrskii was also replaced weeks later amid growing public pressure.

Political tensions escalated further when Fedorov released a video a day prior to Khmara’s confirmation, urging Ukraine to work toward holding elections, which remain suspended under wartime law. He asserted that the nation faces a “systemic crisis of governance.”

The political fallout reached the streets on Wednesday, with demonstrators gathering in Kyiv to back Fedorov’s call for dialogue. “I’m here because I want to see dialogue between the government and the people, between all of us,” a protester told Al Jazeera. Other participants expressed support for leadership renewal while remaining doubtful that legitimate elections can be conducted while the war persists. Ukrainian law prohibits elections during wartime, and no major political figure has challenged this restriction since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s term concluded in May 2024, but the presidential election has been postponed due to ongoing martial law.