Nineteen people were killed in Russia and Ukraine following intense waves of drone and missile strikes targeting civilian infrastructure on both sides of the border, according to official statements released Sunday.
With front-line ground combat largely stalled and diplomatic negotiations frozen, both nations have dramatically increased long-range bombardment deep behind enemy lines. This shift has pushed civilian casualties to their highest numbers since the initial months of the invasion in 2022.
In southern Russia’s Rostov region, five people died in a residential district during heavy drone attacks, regional governor Yuri Slusar reported. Four additional deaths were recorded across the Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions, while four people died in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as “one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory.” Russia’s defense ministry stated that it downed 822 drones nationwide overnight.
In Ukraine, Russian drones and missiles struck ArcelorMittal’s major steel manufacturing plant in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, killing two people and injuring 14. The facility was forced to partially suspend operations due to damaged core production infrastructure. A subsequent strike on Kryvyi Rih Sunday evening killed another individual.
Additional Russian strikes claimed lives across multiple Ukrainian regions, including two deaths in Zaporizhzhia, one in Sumy, and one in Donetsk.
In Kyiv, an attack destroyed a long-standing outdoor book market at Pochaina. Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha lost four stalls in the resulting fire.
“There used to be a store. And books, and flags of all the countries, all the countries. Tons of everything. And that’s it,” the 45-year-old told AFP.
In a social media statement addressing the overnight strikes, Zelensky noted that “wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure.” He reported that Ukrainian towns were hit by “more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs, and 62 missiles” over the past week, repeating his call for allies to send additional air defense systems.
Russia has intensified its use of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles, taking advantage of Ukrainian air-defense shortages that worsened after the US-Israeli conflict with Iran diverted global supply lines.
“When North Korean ballistic missiles destroy infrastructure and claim lives here in Europe, European interceptors cannot simply be allowed to sit in storage,” Zelensky stated, pointing to Kyiv’s claims that Moscow is receiving increased missile shipments and manpower from North Korea.
The escalating aerial war is also spilling into neighboring airspace. Romania’s defense ministry reported that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that crossed into its airspace near Ukraine and Moldova. NATO also confirmed that its aircraft downed a drone entering Latvian airspace.
Concurrently, Ukraine has ramped up strikes on logistical assets belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, asserting that the firm provides parts for Russian military drones. Ukrainian drones set fire to a Wildberries warehouse near Moscow overnight, marking approximately 20 such facilities hit since mid-July. Zelensky explained that these operations, alongside strikes on oil refineries, aim to disrupt Russia’s economic support for the war.
According to United Nations figures, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine during July alone, marking the highest monthly casualty count since May 2022. Russian officials separately reported 79 civilian deaths on their side of the border in July.
