Russian missile and drone barrage kills eight and wounds dozens in Ukraine

Russia has unleashed another intense barrage of missiles and drones on Ukraine, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, officials say.

Five people were killed and 30 wounded when two glide bombs hit a crowded area in the northern city of Sumy, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday.

One of the bombs hit a bus stop, and pictures showed a destroyed yellow bus with one of its ⁠⁠sides ripped off.

Two more people were killed, and another was wounded earlier in the day by a missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa, while a drone hit a civilian enterprise in the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven.

One other person died in a Russian attack on the eastern town of Sloviansk.

Ballistic missiles and specialised drone swarms struck multiple districts across Kyiv, wounding at least 11 civilians and damaging critical infrastructure in the capital.

The complex assault highlights the escalating threat facing Kyiv’s airspace as defenders ration depleted air defence stockpiles while waiting for Western military aid to arrive.

“Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that rescuers were at the scene. He said defenders downed most targets “but not the ballistic ones” and urged allies to quickly deliver air defence packages agreed at this week’s NATO summit.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired six Iskander-M or S-400 ballistic missiles from the Bryansk region, as well as six tactical cruise missiles and 121 drones. Although defence units successfully downed 111 drones and two cruise missiles, all six ballistic targets breached the perimeter.

Domestic media reports said air defence teams have been forced to switch sophisticated Patriot missile batteries into manual operational mode to carefully conserve dwindling interceptor stocks.

The incoming attacks caused severe fires and devastation. Kyiv Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed via social media that the casualties included an 11-year-old boy, with four of the wounded requiring emergency treatment in hospital.

“A transformer substation is on fire in the Darnytskyi district and a three-storey office building is burning in the Solomianskyi district,” Klitschko said on his Telegram channel.

Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported that a railway locomotive was heavily damaged by a primary blast wave, while nearby commercial warehouses and a pharmacy suffered significant structural damage. Beyond the city limits, emergency personnel utilised specialised firefighting trains to contain a huge 4,000-square-metre (4,800-square-yard) blaze at a regional infrastructure facility.

The weekend assault follows a sharp escalation in Russian air raids targeting the capital since the start of this month. Recent attacks across Kyiv and its outlying metropolitan area have killed at least 60 people since the beginning of July, according to data compiled by local authorities.

Beyond the capital, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Russia’s nationwide missile and drone campaign successfully struck at least 11 infrastructure sites.

Ukraine targets Russia’s oil infrastructure

In response, Ukrainian forces have been pressuring Russia’s military logistics ⁠⁠in occupied southern Ukraine, seeking to deprive troops of fuel and munitions by ⁠⁠striking trucks and vessels deep behind front lines.

Ukraine’s drone forces chief Robert Brovdi said his units struck 21 fuel tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, as well as seven other cargo and support ships, raising the number of vessels hit this week to 76.

Zelenskyy has said the aim of the drone strike campaign ‌‌is to bring Russia to the negotiating table, although President Vladimir Putin has not yet publicly shown any willingness to soften his position.

Russian authorities ‌‌said on Saturday that one person was killed in a drone attack on four vessels, including a methanol tanker in Taganrog Bay on the Sea of Azov.

On Friday, fires broke out at two fuel depots and at Taganrog port following drone attacks.

The Russian defence ministry said air defence units downed 178 Ukrainian drones in various regions overnight.