Ukraine: Deadly Russian strike in Lviv, major cabinet reshuffle

Ukraine suffered new Russian bombings on Wednesday that killed seven people including three children ; Lviv (west), à nearly 1,000 kilometers from the front, the day after a particularly deadly strike in Poltava (center).

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is undergoing its biggest reshuffle since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announcing his departure. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants “new energy.”

Moscow, for its part, has stepped up attacks on its neighbor since kyiv launched a surprise offensive in Russia's Kursk region last month, seizing hundreds of square kilometers.

“Seven people, including children, were killed” in Lviv on Wednesday, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office said on Telegram.

According to the city's mayor, Andriy Sadoviy, the attack killed four members of a family, a mother and her three children, leaving the father the sole survivor.

A total of 53 people were injured, according to the regional military administration.

“I heard terrible, inhuman screams,” said Yelyzaveta, 27, a resident of the affected neighborhood.

Buildings in central Lviv were covered in soot, and burned-out cars and debris littered the ground, an AFP journalist noted.

Ukrainian rescue workers and police carry the body of a person killed during a bombing raid on Lviv (Ukraine), September 4, 2024 © AFP – YURIY DYACHYSHYN

Marked by its Polish and Austro-Hungarian heritage, Lviv has a historic center listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and “at least seven architectural buildings” were hit on Wednesday, according to the head of the city's military administration, Maksym Kozytsky.

Around fifty buildings were damaged, including two medical facilities and two schools, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Located in western Ukraine, far from the fighting, Lviv has been relatively spared by Russian missiles compared to other cities in the country, but it remains periodically targeted.

– Heavy toll in Poltava –

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a missile attack in Lviv, western Ukraine, on September 4, 2024 © AFP – YURIY DYACHYSHYN

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On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, another strike hit Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, injuring five people, announced this last.

Mr Zelensky has denounced “Russian terrorist attacks” and called once again on the West to provide his country with more military resources to “put an end to terror”.

He has repeatedly repeated this message as Moscow steps up its massive strikes, targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure or targeting cities far from the front.

On Tuesday, at least 53 people died and nearly 300 were injured in a strike by two ballistic missiles targeting a military institute in the city of Poltava, in central Ukraine.

According to Mr Zelensky, this strike hit the Institute of Communications, which has been training telecommunications specialists since the 1960s military.

The Russian army said on Wednesday that its attack had hit a military training center where, “under the direction of foreign instructors, specialists in communications and electronic warfare (…) were trained”, as were “drone operators involved in strikes” on Russian soil.

– Kouleba resigns –

Buildings damaged by a Russian missile strike on Lviv, western Ukraine, on September 4, 2024 © AFP – YURIY DYACHYSHYN

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in office since 2020, submitted his resignation on Wednesday, following several other officials, paving the way for a major cabinet reshuffle.

The departures of four ministers were approved on Wednesday by the Rada, Ukraine's parliament, but Mr. Kuleba's fate has not been decided. The vote on it has been “urgently postponed” and could take place on Thursday, according to a parliamentary source.

In total, “more than 50% of the members of the government will be replaced,” David Arakhamia, leader of the parliamentary party of the president, assured on Tuesday evening.

On Monday, it was the director of the Ukrainian electricity network operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytsky, who said he had been dismissed from his duties.

President Zelensky has carried out several reshuffles since the start of the war, notably dismissing his defense minister in September 2023 after corruption scandals and replacing the army chief of staff following setbacks on the battlefield.

These changes come as the Russian army has accelerated its advance in eastern Ukraine, particularly towards Pokrovsk, an important logistics center from which it is located less than 10 kilometers.

Russian troops claimed on Wednesday the capture of a new locality in this area, Karlivka.

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