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Drones and missile deaths
Ukrainian forces staged one of their biggest drone attacks on Russia since Moscow’s invasion more than four years ago, firing almost 800 drones and launching “almost 800 drones” just two days after a similar salvo, officials said Tuesday.
“firing almost 800 drones”
In Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, a Russian missile strike on the village of Pechenihy killed at least 10 people and wounded eight others, with the barrage demolishing homes, officials said Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was “a brutal attack” that damaged 10 homes, a cafe, a post office, a store and at least seven vehicles, according to Syniehubov.
The AP also reported that Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with missiles, drones and glide bombs Tuesday, killing at least 10 civilians, as Zelenskyy said Moscow is getting new military help from North Korea for its more than 4-year-old invasion.
Zelenskyy vows response
Zelenskyy vowed retaliation after the Pechenihy strike, saying, “We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” on social media.
The ABC News report said Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin told residents that at least 197 drones were shot down by Russian air defenses over the capital region, while Vorobyov said at least three people were injured, including a 10-year-old girl.
In Kyiv’s response to the broader campaign, Zelenskyy also warned that “Every step Russia takes – increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilisation – all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation,” as AP reported.
The AP further said Russia’s highest court ordered that Yabloko, the only political party opposing the war, be excluded from the ballot in the Sept. 18-20 parliamentary election, citing a Kremlin posture against negotiations.
What’s at stake next
The drone campaign and missile strikes were framed by officials as part of a widening contest over long-range systems, with the AP describing Ukraine’s claim that Russia is poised to escalate by exploiting Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors.
“more than 5,000 customers and 46 "socially significant facilities"”
In the Moscow region, ABC News reported that Mosoblenergo said more than 5,000 customers and 46 “socially significant facilities” were left without power after the latest round of Ukrainian strikes, and Rosviatsiya introduced temporary flight restrictions at all four of Moscow’s international airports.
In Ukraine, the AP said a strike hit the grounds of a children’s hospital in Kyiv, leaving two craters and shattering windows while children and medical workers were in bomb shelters, and emergency officials said another Russian strike started a fire in a warehouse that spread across about 1,200 square meters.
Zelenskyy’s North Korea allegation also fed into the diplomatic and military stakes described by the AP, which said U.S.-led efforts to stop the war have fizzled and that Russia’s partnership with Kim Jong Un was formalized in 2024 with a strategic partnership agreement pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression.
