At least 19 people have been killed in Russia and Ukraine as the two sides intensified long-range drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure, authorities said Sunday.
The latest strikes come as fighting along the front lines remains largely stalled and diplomatic talks have frozen, prompting both countries to expand attacks deep behind enemy lines.
The escalation has pushed civilian casualties to their highest levels since the early months of the war in 2022.
Ukrainian Drones Hit Russia
In Russia, Ukrainian drone attacks killed five people in a residential area of the southern Rostov region, regional governor Yuri Slusar said.
Three others were killed in the Belgorod, Kursk and Moscow regions, while four more people died in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as “one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory”.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted 822 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight.
Russian Strikes Hit Ukrainian Steel Plant
In Ukraine, Russian drones and missiles struck ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, killing two people and injuring 14 others.
The industrial facility, one of Ukraine’s largest steel producers, said it partially suspended operations after the attack damaged key production facilities.
Another strike hit Kryvyi Rih on Sunday evening, killing one person.
Two people were also killed in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, while one person died in Sumy near the Russian border and another in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
In Kyiv, a popular outdoor book market at Pochaina was also hit.
Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha said all four of his stalls were destroyed by 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 said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had continued targeting civilian infrastructure with ballistic missiles.
Over the past week, he said, Ukrainian cities had come under attack from more than 1,550 drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles.
Zelensky again appealed to Ukraine’s allies for additional air-defence systems.
Attacks Spread Beyond Ukraine
Russia has launched near-daily missile and drone attacks across Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The attacks have recently intensified with greater use of ballistic missiles, which are difficult for Ukraine to intercept amid shortages of air-defence systems.
Zelensky said Russia’s growing use of ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea was creating a wider security threat in Europe.
“When North Korean ballistic missiles destroy infrastructure and claim lives here in Europe, European interceptors cannot simply be allowed to sit in storage,” he said.
Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of receiving additional missiles and troops from North Korea.
The conflict has also increasingly spilled into neighbouring European countries.
Following the latest overnight attacks, Romania’s defence ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
NATO said Friday that its fighter jets had also shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace. Latvia’s defence ministry said it was the second such incident in the country within a week.
Ukraine Targets Russian War Infrastructure
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks deep inside Russian territory.
Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, alleging that the company supplies components used in Russian drones.
A Wildberries logistics facility near Moscow was set ablaze after another Ukrainian drone attack overnight.
Ukraine has targeted around 20 warehouses and buildings linked to the company since mid-July.
Zelensky said such attacks, along with strikes on Russian oil refineries, are designed to weaken Moscow’s war economy.
The intensifying attacks have contributed to a sharp rise in civilian casualties.
According to United Nations figures, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine in July, the highest monthly civilian death toll since May 2022.
Russian authorities reported 79 civilian deaths in July, an increase from the previous month.
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