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Ukrainian drone strikes on
Russia’s Black Sea coast and Crimea have killed at least 11 people and wounded
dozens, according to Russian officials, as attacks between the two sides
continue to intensify.
Seven people, including three
children, were killed in a drone attack on the seaside village of
Arkhipo-Osipovka in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, authorities said. The
death toll increased after the initial reports of casualties.
Krasnodar Governor Venyamin
Kondratyev said Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike on the popular
Black Sea resort. Unverified footage shared on social media appeared to show a
drone crashing near a crowded beach as tourists watched from the shoreline and
water.
Four killed in Crimea strike
Another four people were killed
in a separate Ukrainian strike on Crimea, according to Sergey Aksyonov, the
Moscow-installed head of the peninsula.
Both Crimea and Russia’s Black
Sea coastline are popular summer destinations for Russian tourists. The attacks
have raised fresh concerns over the growing impact of the war on civilian
areas.
The United Nations has reported
an increase in civilian casualties during 2026 as the conflict continues
without a clear path toward a peace agreement.
Ukraine steps up drone attacks
on Russia
Ukraine has increasingly launched
large-scale drone attacks against targets inside Russia, often during overnight
operations. Kyiv has described its strikes as a response to Russia’s continued
missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Russia launched its full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian
cities and infrastructure throughout the conflict, including attacks launched
from Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.
Ukraine has also intensified its
attacks on Russian military and strategic targets in Crimea in recent months.
The strikes have contributed to disruptions in fuel and electricity supplies
across the peninsula during the summer.
Russian attacks kill civilians
in Ukraine
While Ukrainian strikes killed
civilians in Russia and Crimea, Russian attacks also caused casualties in
Ukraine.
A Russian strike on Kryvyi Rig,
the home city of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, killed three people,
according to Oleksandr Ganzha, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
An eight-year-old boy was among
those killed, Ganzha said. Images released after the attack showed firefighters
battling flames around the damaged remains of a vehicle near a petrol station.
Another Russian attack in
Ukraine’s southern Odesa region wounded 13 people, according to regional
Governor Oleg Kiper.
Russian strike destroys
millions of Ukrainian books
Separately, a Russian strike on a
warehouse in northeastern Ukraine reportedly destroyed around eight million
books, according to Ukrainian publishing house Ranok.
The publisher described the
incident as a major blow to the country’s publishing industry and cultural
infrastructure.
“This is the largest loss to
Ukraine’s book infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale war,” Ranok
said.
The warehouse in Kharkiv was hit
during a Russian drone and missile attack over the weekend. A reporter at the
scene said firefighters were working to contain a major blaze several hours
after the attack.
Ukrainian officials have
previously accused Russia of deliberately targeting cultural and publishing
facilities. The latest destruction has renewed concerns over the impact of the
war on Ukraine’s cultural institutions.
Ukraine-Russia war continues
The latest attacks highlight the
widening reach of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with both sides continuing to
use drones and missiles against targets far from the front lines.
As Ukraine increases its long-range drone operations against Russia and Crimea, Moscow continues to launch missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Civilian casualties and damage to critical infrastructure remain a major consequence of the ongoing war.