Russian and Ukrainian civilians killed in overnight airstrikes

Three Ukrainian civilians and two Russian civilians died during overnight strikes Saturday, July 26, as the two countries continued to launch significant missile and drone barrages across the frontlines, according to reports from both governments. Kyiv said that Moscow launched 235 drones and 27 missiles, while Russia’s Defense Ministry says it intercepted at least 54 drones.

In Ukraine’s Dnipro region, three people died as a result of Russian strikes. Roughly 650 kilometers away, in Russia’s Rostov region, two other civilians were killed.

‘Terrible night’

“Terrible night,” Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipro regional government, said in a post on Telegram, adding, “Massive combined attack on the region.” According to Lysak, among the damage was a multi-story building and a shopping center that was engulfed in flames.

According to Ukraine’s air force, a total of 10 missiles and 25 drones hit nine targets. The wider assault targeted Dnipro and Sumy, where three people were injured in an attack on a central square. In Kharkiv, another five people were injured in an alleged “double-tap” strike, or a second wave of attacks that’s launched with the express purpose of harming first responders.

“Such strikes certainly cannot be left without response, and Ukrainian long-range drones ensure one,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday. “Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, and Russian airfields must see that Russia’s own war is now hitting them back with real consequences.”

Drones bound for Moscow

Meanwhile, during a briefing on Thursday, July 24, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that over the past week, seven people have died in shelling and drone attacks. That number increased to nine when another two people were killed in the Rostov region, acting Gov. Yuri Slyusar said. A woman and three children were also injured after a drone fell on a home in Russia’s Ingushetia region.

Additional drones bound for Moscow were reportedly shot down, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Oleg Melnichenko, the governor of the Penza region, added that an industrial facility was also targeted.

The continued strikes come as Zelenskyy walked back some of the anti-corruption reforms that were announced earlier this week. As Straight Arrow News previously reported, those reforms sparked some of the largest anti-government protests since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine also met in Istanbul Wednesday, July 23, for a third round of potential ceasefire negotiations. However, aside from another prisoner exchange, few other breakthroughs were achieved.