Russia's Biggest Ballistic Missile Strike on Kyiv of the War
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- Russia fired its largest ballistic missile barrage at Kyiv since the start of the war early Sunday, with Ukraine's air force reporting 18 of 41 missiles downed overnight and 1 killed, 15 injured across 6 districts
- Ukraine is especially exposed because of a Patriot interceptor shortage, and Russia has launched ballistic missiles on at least 7 separate occasions in July alone
- President Zelenskyy is absorbing domestic backlash after replacing Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in a cabinet reshuffle, prompting street protests in Kyiv and criticism from soldiers who called it his worst presidential mistake
- Ukraine struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, continuing its strategy of starving Russian-occupied Crimea of fuel and supplies
- Donald Trump said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriot interceptor missiles domestically, though the article states details and timeline remain unclear
- Russian drone strikes hit Dnipropetrovsk, killing 1 person, and struck a passenger train in the Zaporizhia region, killing the conductor
Why it matters: Ukraine intercepted only 18 of 41 missiles — under half — and Russia has used ballistic missiles on Kyiv at least seven times in July alone, meaning each new wave is cheaper for Moscow to launch and costlier for Kyiv to absorb. With domestic Patriot stocks depleted and Trump's domestic-production offer still undefined on timeline, Zelenskyy is simultaneously absorbing record strikes and a political crisis over his defence minister's ouster.
