Russia, Ukraine strikes kill 19 as drone and missile attacks surge

A wave of mutual drone and missile strikes across Russia and Ukraine killed 19 people on Sunday, marking a severe escalation in long-range attacks as front-line fighting remains frozen and civilian casualties hit their highest levels since 2022. In Russia, a massive assault intercepted by the defense ministry as 1,478 drones saw five people killed in a residential area of the Rostov region, alongside additional fatalities in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions. Meanwhile, relentless Russian bombardments across Ukraine claimed lives in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy, while a strike on ArcelorMittal’s major steel plant in Kryvyi Rih killed two people, wounded 14, and forced a partial halt to operations. The strikes also devastated cultural and commercial sites, including a popular antiquarian book market in Kyiv that was reduced to ashes. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the targeting of civilian infrastructure—noting that cities were hit by thousands of drones, bombs, and missiles over the past week—as he renewed his urgent appeals to international allies for enhanced air defense systems.

Credit – CGTN