Missile attack on Kyiv kills at least four; Zelenskyy seeks Starlink approval for strikes inside Russia

Kyiv was hit by ballistic missiles early Saturday, with the city's military administration reporting at least four deaths. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said more than a dozen people were wounded in the Russian attack. Over a dozen explosions rocked the city, and residents were urged to remain in shelters.

The attack came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Donald Trump and other US officials to help Ukraine obtain permission from tech billionaire Elon Musk to use the Starlink satellite internet service for targeting strikes inside Russia. According to a person familiar with the matter, Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week. He also reportedly raised the issue with lawmakers during a visit to Capitol Hill. Trump did not commit to the request. Musk currently allows Starlink to be used in Ukraine, including in Russian-occupied areas, but restricts its use within Russia itself.

At a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump told reporters that handing over the underlying Patriot technology was 'a hard thing' to do. Zelenskyy had earlier said Trump agreed to license production of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. But when asked whether he was ready to grant such a license, Trump said: 'We have not agreed to that. We're talking about it, but it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology.' He added that giving away weapons carried risks: 'People that you give that technology [to], they can some day turn on you. You know that is possible.'

Separately, thousands of Ukrainians rallied in central Kyiv on Friday, angry over Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov is widely credited with driving military innovation during Ukraine's war with Russia. He took charge of the ministry in January but was dismissed in a surprise reshuffle in mid-July. Since then, protesters have gathered near the presidential office, pushing for Fedorov's reinstatement as he refused to accept another government post.

Russia's main grain lobby group warned on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ships and ports could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, also a major agricultural exporter, have been attacking each other's facilities and vessels in the Black Sea area in recent weeks, driving wheat prices higher. The Union of Grain Exporters and Producers told Reuters that the disruption to shipping caused by Ukrainian attacks 'poses a direct threat to global food security'.

Meanwhile, the founder and CEO of Russian online retailer Wildberries, Tatyana Kim, complained on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's sites were 'acts of terrorism' against civilians, affecting millions in Russia and other countries. Ukraine has attacked more than a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 in an effort to disrupt the operations of a company that is a vendor to the Russian war effort and a linchpin of Russia's consumer economy.