Russian missile attacks killed at least four Ukrainian civilians and wounded 20 others overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Friday, as his country grapples with both relentless bombardment and a political crisis triggered by the firing of its most popular defense minister.
The strikes come as thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets Thursday to protest Zelenskyy's abrupt dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose six-month tenure brought technological innovation and anti-corruption measures that offered rare hope in a grinding war now in its fifth year. Two people died in Odesa, including a woman walking in a park with her children. The children survived. Two more were killed in the Zaporizhzhia region, with five injured. Three others were wounded in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and officials reported casualties in five additional regions.
A Popular Minister Pushed Out
Fedorov, 35, had become widely recognized as the driving force behind Ukraine's swift adoption of military technology and efforts to root out corruption in defense procurement. His departure has unsettled military leadership and triggered public outcry at a moment when Ukraine had gained traction against Russia's invasion.
Zelenskyy's major government reshuffle Thursday included appointing a new prime minister alongside Fedorov's removal. The president said relations between Fedorov and Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's armed forces who started his military career in the former Soviet Union, had broken down completely. That made Fedorov's position untenable, according to Zelenskyy.
Thousands demonstrated against the dismissal in cities across Ukraine on Thursday. Further street protests were expected Friday.
Security Chief Tapped as Replacement
Zelenskyy announced he'd asked Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, acting head of the state's security service and a highly regarded special operations expert, to take over defense minister duties. The president said late Thursday he would ask Parliament to formally approve Khmara's appointment as required by law.
That step could face bureaucratic hurdles, however. Ukrainian law requires the defense minister to be a civilian, so a serving soldier or security service officer must leave active service before formal appointment. Lawmakers will also be on summer recess through mid-August.
Khmara has been in charge of the SBU security service since January. He previously led the SBU's elite Alpha special forces unit and is known as an architect of Operation Spiderweb, one of Ukraine's most spectacular attacks when it struck Russian air bases last year. He joined the Alpha unit in 2011 and became its commander in 2023 before being promoted to major general the following year.
Relentless Bombardment Continues
Moscow's response to its battlefield difficulties and Ukraine's targeting of Russian oil facilities, which has caused severe fuel shortages, has focused in part on relentless strategic bombing of civilian areas of Ukraine.
In Odesa, regional military administration head Oleh Kiper confirmed one of the dead was a woman who'd been walking in a park with her children. The children survived, he said. Ten others were injured in the southern port city, including children.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 243 Ukrainian drones overnight into Friday. Three civilians were killed and seven others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks over the previous 24 hours, according to Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russia-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region.
Why This Matters:
The convergence of deadly civilian strikes and domestic political turmoil exposes Ukraine's vulnerability at a critical moment in the war. Fedorov's dismissal removes a figure who'd brought transparency and innovation to a defense establishment long plagued by corruption, raising questions about whether anti-corruption efforts will continue. The public backlash suggests Ukrainians fear a return to old patterns of military mismanagement precisely when effective leadership matters most. Moscow's continued targeting of civilian areas—parks, residential zones—underscores the human cost of a conflict where ordinary people remain in the crosshairs. As bureaucratic obstacles may delay Khmara's formal appointment, Ukraine faces potential leadership gaps in its defense ministry during active combat. The protests reflect broader concerns about accountability and whether political decisions serve the public interest or narrow factional disputes within government and military leadership.