Russia hits Kyiv with ballistic missiles as Ukraine reels from latest political shock

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia slammed Ukraine's capital with ballistic missiles in an overnight attack on July 16.

Explosions rocked Kyiv shortly before 1 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyv City Military Administration, said that Russia was attacking the city with ballistic missiles.

Ukraine's Air Force reported that at least eight ballistic missiles were headed toward Kyiv.

The blasts came as Ukrainians were still reeling from the news that only hours earlier, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov had been dismissed from his position after less than a year in office.

Aerial alerts also sounded in other parts of Ukraine, including regions far from the front line, such as Vinnytsia Oblast. At the same time, the Air Force warned of waves of Russian Shahed-type drones headed towards various cities.

Explosions were reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv due to drone strikes as ballistic missiles hit Kyiv.

Warehouses and non-residential buildings in the capital were hit in the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. Attacks are ongoing, and the full extent of damage and casualties is not yet clear.

Throughout late spring and early summer, Russia has waged a campaign of aerial terror against Ukrainian cities, overwhelming the country's battered air defense systems with ballistic missile attacks. The primary target of this campaign has been Kyiv.

In July alone, Russia has attacked Kyiv with ballstic missiles seven times. These include a devastating attack on July 2 that killed over 30 people and injured more than 100, as well as a mass strike on July 6 that killed at least 26 people.

Russia's blitz on Kyiv exploits a fatal vulnerability in Ukraine's air defenses: Only U.S.-made Patriot systems can effectively shoot down ballistic missiles, and Ukraine has no Patriot interceptors left in its stockpiles.

While Ukraine hopes to produce its own interceptors domestically by the end of the year with licenses from the U.S., that will not protect Kyiv residents from Russia's ballistic onslaught in the short term.

In the midst of increasing missile attacks and diminishing defenses, Ukraine's government and military leadership have been shaken by another "reshuffle" led by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Most upsetting has been the dismissal of Fedorov, a popular figure with a track record of tangible achievements during his short term in office. Fedorov said that one of these achievements was implementing a review process after every mass attack, ultimately increasing the interception rate of Russian drones and missiles.

"During this time, the interception rate for drones rose from 83% to 91%, and for cruise missiles — from 47% to 87%," he wrote shortly after his dismissal.