Three dead as Russia and Ukraine trade heavy aerial strikes
At least three people were killed and more than 10 injured in Ukraine in the latest wave of Russian aerial strikes, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. Firefighters were working to control a blaze at a market in Kyiv that was hit by missiles and drones overnight.
Ukraine's air force said it shot down three Russian missiles and nearly 100 drones. In the capital, air-raid sirens sounded four times since Saturday night, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Six people, including a child, were reported injured. Emergency crews in Kyiv also responded to damage from falling debris in several residential areas.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said two people died when a Russian guided aerial bomb destroyed a house. In the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region, officials reported one person killed and 14 injured.
On the Russian side, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about 600 Ukrainian drones were launched towards the city overnight. Three people were injured, he added. A warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries was hit in the attack, and video footage showed a large plume of smoke rising over the site. Sobyanin said roughly a third of the drones had been destroyed by Russian air defence systems.
Both countries have stepped up long-range strikes in recent weeks. Russia has intensified its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Ukraine has targeted Russian logistics hubs and supply depots in an effort to disrupt military operations. Officials on both sides routinely report interceptions of incoming drones and missiles, but civilian casualties and damage to non-military structures continue to be reported.
The overnight attacks follow a pattern of escalating exchanges that has persisted despite repeated international calls for de-escalation. In Kyiv, the market fire was brought under control by morning, but the incident left residents shaken. In the Moscow region, the Wildberries warehouse fire was also extinguished, though the attack demonstrated the expanding range of Ukraine's drone programme.
The human toll of the latest strikes underscores the enduring intensity of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more air defence systems from Western allies, while Russian officials have framed their strikes as responses to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Casualty figures from both sides could not be independently verified.
As the war enters another phase of long-range exchanges, civilian infrastructure on both sides remains at risk. The United Nations and humanitarian organisations have urged all parties to spare civilians and uphold international humanitarian law. The latest attacks show that the conflict continues to exact a heavy price on ordinary people, far from the front lines.
