A Russian drone strike targeted a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, resulting in the deaths of at least 15 people. The attack, which occurred in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, also left 130 individuals injured, including 23 children. President Zelenskyy characterized the assault as a deliberate "double-tap" strike, explaining that an initial wave of drones hit the area, followed by a second wave specifically timed to strike as rescue workers arrived at the scene.
Kryvyi Rih has faced repeated aerial attacks throughout the more than four-year-old conflict. The city previously suffered a devastating strike in April 2025, which resulted in 20 deaths, including nine children. The tragedy on Friday was part of a broader series of aerial assaults across Ukraine. Earlier that day, a Russian drone attack in the Kharkiv region killed two women, aged 73 and 66, and wounded two others, according to regional head Oleh Syniehubov. Separately, emergency services reported that an evening attack in the southern Mykolaiv region killed four people, including three children.
According to the Ukrainian air force, the military managed to shoot down or suppress 107 out of 135 drones launched by Russia overnight. These strikes followed a massive nighttime aerial assault on Kyiv just 24 hours prior, which involved scores of missiles and drones and killed 16 people. Large-scale Russian strikes have become increasingly frequent this summer, with the United Nations noting that Kyiv was among the hardest-hit cities in July, suffering at least 54 civilian deaths and 202 injuries. Moscow has intensified the use of ballistic missiles against the capital, taking advantage of Ukraine's limited supply of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors.
The conflict has also seen reciprocal drone activity. In Russia's Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone strike near the village of Razumnoye killed one person and wounded four others, two of whom were reported to be in serious condition. President Zelenskyy also confirmed that Ukrainian drones targeted an oil refinery in Perm, located approximately 995 miles from the border, as well as the Marinovka military airfield in the Volgograd region. Russian media outlet Astra reported that the Perm facility, operated by Lukoil, was set ablaze, while local officials confirmed damage to an industrial site.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported intercepting 325 Ukrainian drones across 15 regions and Crimea overnight, with a further 211 drones shot down later on Friday. Analysts suggest that the escalation in long-range strikes is a result of stalled battlefield progress, with troop movements along the 780-mile front line heavily constrained by the widespread use of ground robots and drones. Ukrainian officials have stated that these long-range operations are intended to bring the consequences of the war to the Russian public and pressure President Vladimir Putin into peace negotiations, though the Russian leader has shown no indication of ending the invasion.
