Russian strikes kill six in Ukraine as Moscow intercepts hundreds of drones

Russian military operations across eastern Ukraine resulted in multiple casualties overnight, according to local authorities. In the Kharkiv region, strikes on residential areas in Balakliya killed three people, identified as two women and a man. Rescue operations were underway to extinguish fires and clear debris from the affected locations.

The northern Sumy region experienced additional attacks that claimed three lives and wounded at least nineteen others. The city of Sumy itself sustained damage from guided aerial bombs, resulting in twelve wounded. Separate incidents in the Dnipropetrovsk region wounded two people, while a drone attack on a vehicle in the Kherson region wounded six others.

In the Black Sea, Russian forces targeted a foreign-flagged vessel identified as the Mera Queen, registered under the Guinea-Bissau flag and carrying wheat cargo. The attack killed one crew member and sparked a fire aboard the vessel. This incident represents part of an intensified campaign by Russian forces over the past month to disrupt Ukraine's maritime trade and export operations through near-daily attacks on Black Sea port facilities.

Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that its air defence systems destroyed 605 Ukrainian drones during the overnight operations. Additionally, a logistics facility operated by Russian e-commerce company Wildberries sustained damage. This marks at least the twentieth warehouse belonging to the company targeted since mid-July, with Ukrainian officials asserting that the retailer supplies dual-use items that support Russia's military operations.