Strikes kill 16 in Russia and Ukraine

Strikes killed 16 people in Russia and Ukraine, authorities said Sunday, as waves of drones and missiles pummeled civilian infrastructure on both sides. Fighting at the front remains at a near standstill and talks are frozen. The warring countries have significantly stepped up long-range attacks deep behind each other's lines.

How many people died in the latest Russia-Ukraine strikes?

Sixteen people were killed across Russia and Ukraine in the latest wave of strikes, according to regional authorities. In Russia, swarms of Ukrainian drones killed five people in a residential area of the southern Rostov region, regional governor Yuri Slusar said. Three more people died in the Belgorod, Kursk and Moscow regions, along with three others in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

What happened in Russia during the attacks?

Moscow's regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory. Russia's defence ministry said it had intercepted 822 drones across the country overnight. The scale of the barrage pushed the civilian death toll toward levels not seen since the war's first months in 2022.

What happened in Ukraine during the attacks?

A barrage of Russian drones and missiles killed two people and wounded 14 at ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown. The plant, one of Ukraine's largest steel producers, said it partially halted operations after the strike damaged core production facilities. Strikes also killed two people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and one in the border region of Sumy.

In Kyiv, a popular outdoor book market at Pochaina, long known for rare and antiquarian volumes, was struck. Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha watched all four of his stalls burn to the ground. "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.

What did Zelensky say about the overnight strikes?

Zelensky said in a social media post that Russia strikes civilian infrastructure wherever its ballistic missiles can reach. He said Ukrainian cities had been hit over the past week by more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs, and 62 missiles. He renewed his appeal to allies for more air defense support.

Russia has carried out near-daily missile and drone strikes across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in early 2022. It has recently intensified attacks using hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles, exploiting gaps in Ukraine's air defenses after the US-Israeli war against Iran diverted supplies. Kyiv has renewed claims that Moscow is receiving more missiles and troops from North Korea, with Zelensky saying North Korean ballistic missiles are destroying infrastructure and claiming lives in Europe.

How is the drone war spilling into other European countries?

Countries bordering the conflict have faced increasing spillover from the drone war. After the overnight raid, Romania's defense ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached its airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova. NATO said Friday its fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the second such incident there in a week, according to Latvia's defense ministry.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer Wildberries, saying the company supplies components for Russian drones. Near Moscow, another Wildberries warehouse was set ablaze by Ukrainian drones overnight. Since mid-July, Ukraine has struck around 20 warehouses and buildings linked to the company.

Zelensky says those strikes, along with attacks on oil refineries, aim to undermine Russia's war economy. In July alone, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine, the highest monthly toll since May 2022, according to a United Nations tally. Russian authorities separately reported 79 civilians killed on their side in July, up from the previous month.