At least 10 people were killed and 22 injured in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv early Saturday, according to Reuters. The strike caused fires and destruction across five districts of the Ukrainian capital, the state emergency service reported. This latest assault comes as US President Donald Trump distanced himself from a previous commitment to allow Ukraine to manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, a capability Kyiv urgently needs to counter Russian missiles.
Details of the Attack
More than a dozen explosions reverberated through Kyiv, prompting residents to take shelter. In the Darnytskyi district, multiple buildings and vehicles were damaged, with authorities reporting seven people killed and 14 wounded. In the Solomianskyi district, two people were killed and eight wounded after a five-story residential building was hit. The emergency service said that by Saturday morning, 105 people had been rescued from the affected areas.
Kateryna Kravchenko, a 75-year-old resident, described the devastation to AFP: “Everything was smashed, the windows, everything. I can barely stand. I don’t know how I’m going to get through all this.”
Trump Retreats on Patriot Missile Production
During a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump told reporters that transferring the underlying Patriot technology was “a hard thing” to do. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Trump and stated that the US president had agreed to license Patriot production to Ukraine. However, when asked if he was ready to grant such a license, Trump said: “We have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology.” He added, “People that you give that technology [to], they can some day turn on you. You know that is possible.”
Zelenskyy Seeks Starlink for Strikes
Zelenskyy on Friday urged Trump and other US officials to help Ukraine gain permission from Elon Musk to use the satellite internet service Starlink for guiding strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, according to a person familiar with the matter. He also reportedly conveyed the same request to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Trump did not commit to the request. Musk currently allows Starlink use within Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, but restricts its use inside Russia.
Protests Over Defence Minister's Dismissal
Several thousand Ukrainians rallied in central Kyiv on Friday, angry over Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov, who took charge of the wartime ministry in January, was removed in a surprise government reshuffle in mid-July. He is widely credited with driving military innovation during the war. Since his dismissal, Ukrainians have gathered near the presidential office, demanding his reinstatement, as Fedorov has refused to accept another government post.
Black Sea Grain Exports at Risk
Russia's main grain lobby group warned on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ships and ports could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea, potentially raising prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, also a major agricultural exporter, have been attacking each other's facilities and vessels in the Black Sea area in recent weeks, driving wheat prices higher. The disruption to shipping in the Black Sea “poses a direct threat to global food security,” the Union of Grain Exporters and Producers told Reuters.
Wildberries Attacks Condemned
Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries amount to “acts of terrorism” against civilians, affecting millions of people in Russia and other countries, the company's founder and CEO, Tatyana Kim, complained on Friday. Ukraine has attacked more than a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in an effort to disrupt the operations of the company, which is a vendor to the Russian war effort and a linchpin of Russia's consumer economy.
