Russian forces launched a fresh wave of strikes across Ukraine overnight from Friday to Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding several others, according to local authorities. The attacks, which included ballistic missile alerts in the capital, come just one day after a devastating strike on a crowded shopping center in central Ukraine left 16 people dead.
Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia Hit in Latest Barrage
In Kyiv, the city’s military administration triggered a ballistic missile alert before reporting a fire at a warehouse in the Solomianskyi district. “According to preliminary information, there is one dead and wounded,” the administration said in a statement on Telegram. The strike adds to the mounting toll in the capital, which has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks.
Further south in Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone attack killed one man and injured four other people, regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov reported. The strike underscores the persistent danger facing civilians far from the front lines as long-range attacks intensify on both sides of the conflict.
Deadly Week for Ukrainian Civilians
The overnight strikes followed a bloody Friday during which Russian bombardments killed at least 20 people across Ukraine. The deadliest single incident occurred in Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, where a daytime drone assault on a busy shopping center claimed 16 lives. Rescue operations continued through the night, with regional governor Oleksandre Ganja reporting nine people still missing, including two children. Emergency services said at least 130 people were wounded in that attack, 23 of them children.
Civilian Casualties Surge as Long-Range Strikes Multiply
Four and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, long-range strikes are increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure such as logistics warehouses, driving a sharp rise in casualties. According to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since May 2022, with at least 437 killed—a 30% increase from June and a 70% jump compared to July 2025.
The capital has borne a particularly heavy burden. Last month alone, at least 54 people were killed and 202 wounded in Kyiv, highlighting the escalating human cost of the war as both sides step up attacks on urban areas and civilian facilities.
