Fresh overnight attacks underscored the grinding pace of the war, as Russia launched a new wave of drones and missiles across Ukraine, killing four people, while Ukrainian strikes hitting Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine left five dead, officials said.
The barrage came just one day before Ukraine’s allies were due to gather in Paris for discussions on how to increase pressure on Moscow to end the conflict, now in its more than fourth year.
Efforts led by the United States to broker an end to the fighting have lost momentum in recent months, with Washington’s attention shifting toward its war with Iran.
At the same time, Moscow has intensified its use of ballistic missiles against Ukraine, with dozens killed since July, including in the capital, Kyiv.
In Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, regional officials said three people died overnight in Russian strikes. Two of the deaths were reported in Kryvyi Rig, where an attack hit an “industrial enterprise,” according to the same officials.
Separately, Kherson’s mayor, Yaroslav Shanko, said a drone strike on the southern city killed a 48-year-old.
Officials also reported deaths linked to Ukrainian attacks. In the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, four people were killed, while a long-range Ukrainian drone strike in Russia’s Samara region killed one man.
Ukraine’s air defences have been increasingly tested in recent weeks as repeated Russian ballistic missile strikes press existing systems and supplies.
This week, the United States granted Ukraine permission to build US-designed Patriot air defence systems, which can shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, though officials cautioned it could take months before production begins.
Ukrainian government reshuffle
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had proposed replacing Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
“I am grateful to Yulia for her clear, steady, and effective work as Prime Minister, for her years of productive service on Ukraine’s team, and I have offered her the opportunity to lead a new and important area of relations with a key partner,” Mr Zelensky said on X.
“I expect that, together with MPs, we will make the corresponding changes in the government of Ukraine,” he added.
Mr Zelensky said the changes were necessary to “ensure the implementation of an updated political strategy,” but he did not elaborate.
Ms Svyrydenko was appointed in July 2025.
It is believed Yulia Svyrydenko may be appointed as ambassador to the US
Mr Zelensky did not name the role he envisages for Ms Svyrydenko, nor did he identify a successor. He also said changes would extend to the heads of law enforcement agencies.
Opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said Ms Svyrydenko was likely to take up the post of ambassador to the United States.
“That means she will leave the post of prime minister and the entire government will be reshuffled,” Mr Zhelezniak said on Telegram.
Ukrainian law requires parliament to approve a prime minister’s resignation, and such a move triggers the resignation of the entire government.
MPs have floated several potential successors, including Ms Svyrydenko’s predecessor and current Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal; Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov; and Serhiy Koretskyi, the head of state energy company Naftogaz.
