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Five killed as Russia launches fresh aerial attacks across Ukraine

At least five people died in new Russian airstrikes across Ukraine while Moscow faced around 600 Ukrainian drones overnight.

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Inewgen
16 Aug 2026Source: BBC World3 min read (0 views)
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Five killed as Russia launches fresh aerial attacks across Ukraine

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

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  • Russia launched a fresh wave of aerial attacks across Ukraine, killing at least five people and injuring over 10.
  • Air-raid sirens sounded four times in Kyiv since Saturday night, damaging local infrastructure and a book market.
  • Moscow reported roughly 600 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, resulting in seven deaths across Russia.
  • A Spanish fighter jet intercepted a drone that breached Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified further as Russian forces launched a new wave of aerial attacks across Ukrainian territory, leaving at least five people dead and more than 10 injured. Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the attacks triggered fires across Kyiv, including at a book market in the Pochayna district where firefighters worked to douse the flames amidst burnt books. Sixty-nine-year-old Valentina, whose husband owned a market stall, expressed shock that such an event could happen to them, while 42-year-old vinyl store owner Luba reported losing 500,000 hryvnias, equivalent to £8,262, worth of stock.

1,550+Attack drones launched by Russia this week
822Ukrainian drones intercepted by Russia

In addition to Kyiv, cities such as Kremenchuk and Kryvyi Rih were struck by ballistic missiles. The mayor of Kryvyi Rih reported that a 44-year-old man previously marked as missing was found dead in the rubble, while another person was killed and 14 steel plant workers were wounded. President Zelensky also noted that two people in their 60s died when a house was destroyed in Zaporizhzhia, alongside another fatality in Sumy.

Ukraine fire rescue team damaged building smoke

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

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Meanwhile, in Russia, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that about 600 Ukrainian drones were launched toward the capital overnight, with air defenses destroying roughly a third of them. An 83-year-old man was killed when a drone crashed in Moscow, and three people were injured. A warehouse belonging to the Russian online retailer Wildberries in Koledino, located 25 kilometers or 15.5 miles from central Moscow, was hit, triggering a large fire and heavy smoke.

"Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure."

Volodymyr Zelensky

With ground fighting along the lengthy front line yielding only marginal gains for either side, the war has predominantly transformed into an aerial campaign involving mutual exchanges of missiles and drones. Ukraine's strategy includes striking logistical hubs and supply lines, such as the Wildberries warehouse, in order to disrupt military supplies and degrade Russian warfighting capabilities.

Concurrently, the Romanian defence ministry announced that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet, deployed on NATO duties, shot down a drone that breached its airspace near the border with Moldova and Ukraine. Debris from the drone fell in an unpopulated area of the Galati region. Since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has occupied approximately a fifth of Ukrainian territory, with ongoing aerial exchanges showing no immediate signs of stopping.

Source: BBC World

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