At least seven people – including four members of the same family – been killed in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as Russia continued its relentless aerial barrage.
The drone and missile attack came as Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that his nation needed “new energy”, as he ordered a major government reshuffle at a crucial juncture in the fight against Moscow’s invasion.
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba was the highest-profile figure among six ministers to submit their resignations. “We need new energy today, and these steps are related only to the strengthening of our state in different directions,” Mr Zelensky said. Byond the president, 43-year-old Mr Kuleba was the best-known face of Ukraine overseas, meeting leaders around the world and lobbying for military and political support in fluent English. First deputy foreign minister Andrii Sybiha is among the frontrunners to replace him.
The reshuffle is said to have been planned for months, but enacted at a time when Moscow has increased its attacks on Ukrainian cities from the air. The strike on Lviv, not far from the border with Nato member Poland, also injured more than 50 and destroyed historic buildings, mayor Andriy Sadovyi said. It came a day after the war’s deadliest attack this year, when Russia hit a military institute in the central town of Poltava with two ballistic missiles, killing more than 50 and wounding more than 200 more.
Moscow has been pounding Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones over the last 10 days, with some experts claiming they are in response to Kyiv’s cross-border incursion into Kursk which began more than three weeks ago.
One man, Yaroslav Bazylevych, lost his wife and three young daughters when their home was struck in the Lviv attack. “In the centre of Europe, Russia is eliminating Ukrainians by [killing off] entire families. The Russians are killing our children, our future,” Mr Sadovyi said via social media.
Mr Bazylevych’s daughters were seven, 18 and 21 years old, Mr Sadovyi said. Earlier, the mayor said three children had been killed in Wednesday’s attack.
Videos from the site showed emergency service workers carrying out bodies from a damaged residential building as one woman pleaded for information about her daughter and granddaughters. The emergency services said 53 people, including seven children, had been injured.
Resident Ihor Tokarivsky told The Independent that he was woken around 4am by the explosions. “There was plenty of firing by what I think was our anti-aircraft defences and two huge explosions, one after the other.”
Mr Tokarivsky, 69, a retired industrial safety inspector, said his wife, their son, daughter-in-law and five-year-old grandson were in the house at the time.
“Nobody slept after that or, I suppose, anywhere else in the city. We’ve heard some children are among the killed.
“We can only imagine the grief their parents and grandparents must be feeling right now and thank God our grandchild is alive.”
He added “What does [Russian leader] Vladimir Putin think he’s achieving? His forces didn’t aim their missiles at military targets, they hit civilians in a peaceful city.
“Everyone knows their purpose was to cause terror and Putin has made it clear they want to destroy us as a nation, a people.
“All the Russians do by these actions is to make us hate them more and make us more determined to fight them and to take revenge.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched two Kh-47 M2 Kinzhal missiles during the overnight attack using 13 missiles. Air defences shot down seven of them as well as 22 of 29 drones across the country, it said.
Mr Zelensky said allies could help stop the “terror” by providing more air defences, and again urged them to allow the use of long-range Western weapons deeper into Russian territory.
Mr Zelensky is said to have not always appreciated the way his foreign minister Mr Kuleba often dealt with Western allies independently, leading him to offer to stand down on Wednesday. Five ministers stepped down on Tuesday with more resignations and appointments expected over the next few days as Kyiv continues to struggle with Russian attacks on its towns and cities.
Mr Zelensky said: “Autumn will be extremely important for Ukraine. And our state institutions should be configured so that Ukraine achieves all the results that we need – for all of us.”
Those who handed in their resignations on Tuesday included strategic industries minister Alexander Kamyshin and justice minister Denys Maliuska.
Environmental protection minister Ruslan Strilets, deputy prime ministers Olha Stefanishyna and Iryna Vereshchuk, and the head of Ukraine’s Sate Property Fund Vitaliy Koval also handed in their resignations.
David Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of the ruling Servant of the People party, said: “As promised, a major government reset can be expected this week. More than 50 per cent of the Cabinet of Ministers’ staff will be changed.
“Tomorrow we will have a day of dismissals, and the day after that a day of appointments,” Mr Arakhamia added.”