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At least 19 people have been killed in Russia and Ukraine after waves of drones and missiles struck civilian and industrial sites, authorities said Sunday.
The attacks came as fighting on the front lines remains largely stalled and peace talks have made little progress, with both sides stepping up long-range strikes behind enemy lines.
In Russia, Ukrainian drones killed five people in a residential area of the southern Rostov region, Governor Yuri Slyusar said.
Three others were killed in the Belgorod, Kursk and Moscow regions, while another four died in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov described the attack 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.
In Ukraine, Russian drones and missiles killed two people and wounded 14 at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The major steel producer said it had partially halted operations after the attack damaged key production facilities. Another strike on Kryvyi Rih later Sunday killed one person.
Further attacks killed two people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, one in Sumy and another in Donetsk.
In Kyiv, a popular outdoor book market in Pochaina was also hit. Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha said fire destroyed all four of his stalls.
“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.
Zelensky said Russian forces had launched more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided bombs and 62 missiles against Ukrainian cities over the past week.
He renewed his call for Western allies to provide more air-defence systems.
Russia has carried out frequent missile and drone attacks across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, with Kyiv saying Moscow has increasingly used difficult-to-intercept ballistic missiles.
The conflict has also caused growing security concerns in neighbouring European countries.
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 also said its fighter jets had shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, marking the second such incident in Latvia within a week.
Ukraine has meanwhile intensified attacks inside Russia, including strikes on warehouses linked to online retailer Wildberries, which Kyiv accuses of supplying components used in Russian drones.
Zelensky said the attacks, along with strikes on Russian oil refineries, are targeted at weakening Moscow’s war economy.
The violence has pushed civilian casualties sharply higher.
According to the United Nations, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine in July, the highest monthly figure since May 2022.
Russian authorities also reported 79 civilian deaths in July, up from the previous month.
