Russia's overnight attack on Ukraine involved 35 missiles and 185 drones, leaving nine dead in Kyiv. Meanwhile, protests in the capital over the dismissal of Defense Minister Fedorov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that air defense managed to shoot down only one of the 27 ballistic missiles Russia fired at Ukraine overnight. He cited a chronic shortage of interceptors for Patriot systems as the key reason, according to the Ukrainian agency UNIAN.
According to him, Russia launched a total of 35 missiles of various types and as many as 185 strike drones. The main target was Kyiv, with strikes also recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions.
In the Ukrainian capital, nine people were killed and dozens injured. Eighteen residential buildings, one school, and the building of the Lithuanian embassy were damaged. Numerous infrastructure facilities also suffered.
"We managed to shoot down only one ballistic missile tonight simply because there are no missiles for the Patriot. It is precisely this shortage of interceptors against ballistic threats that only encourages Russia to carry out such strikes against lives," Zelensky said, as quoted by UNIAN.
Meanwhile, Russian sources paint a completely different picture of the overnight attack. According to Boris Rozhin, author of the Telegram channel Colonel Cassad, Kyiv's air defense did not shoot down any of the at least 28 Iskander-M and Zircon missiles targeting the capital.
It is also claimed that one Patriot launcher was destroyed during the attack. "The launcher managed to fire two PAC-3 interceptors, both unsuccessfully, after which a hit and detonation of the remaining unfired missiles followed," reads a post on the Colonel Cassad channel.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that key Ukrainian military industry enterprises in Kyiv and the Kyiv region were hit and destroyed overnight. As reported by Wargonzo, among the destroyed facilities are the radio-electronic industry enterprise "Radioizmeritel," which produces missile components, and the company "Burevestnik," specializing in drone components.
Additionally, the enterprise "Fire Point," which produces components and warheads for missiles, was destroyed, as was a drone assembly and storage site. In the Kyiv region, a logistics center in Vyshneve was hit, while south of Odesa, two ships carrying military cargo to one of Ukraine's ports were struck.
As the country faces devastating attacks, several thousand Ukrainians protested in central Kyiv on Friday, demanding the return of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. He took office in January 2026 and was dismissed in mid-July during a sudden and poorly explained government reshuffle, reports Japan Times, citing Reuters.
Fedorov, credited with fostering military innovations during the war with Russia, has refused to accept another government post. "I don't like it when decisions are made and then no one can explain why they were made," Oleksandr, a 40-year-old IT worker and one of the protesters, told Japan Times.
Ukraine's General Staff also published daily Russian losses on Friday. According to these figures, reported by NOELREPORTS UA, Russia lost 1,470 soldiers, four armored vehicles, 82 artillery systems, four multiple rocket launchers, two air defense systems, 1,838 drones, and 16 special vehicles. These numbers have not been independently verified.
