Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack against Ukraine during the night of 30 July, causing civilian casualties and infrastructure damage across multiple regions. The assault injured at least five people and sparked fires at several enterprises.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 78 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types, including strike drones of the Iranian-designed Shahed type and decoy drones.

Ukrainian air defense systems successfully neutralized 51 of the attacking drones, with 27 recorded as hitting targets across seven locations and debris from destroyed drones falling in two additional areas.

Three civilians injured in Kharkiv 

The northeastern city of Kharkiv sustained significant damage when Russian drones struck the Shevchenkivskyi and Slobidskyi districts at approximately 1:55 a.m. Three people were injured in the attacks, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

In the Shevchenkivskyi district, drone strikes damaged a car wash, shattered windows in apartment buildings, and hit a supermarket, while several vehicles caught fire. The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that drone debris injured a 24-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man, and a 62-year-old woman.

Russian forces used “Geran-2” type drones for the city attack. A second strike hit the Slobidskyi district around 2:40 a.m., damaging a non-residential building. Local prosecutors have opened war crimes investigations into both incidents.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast suffers enterprise damage

Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk region resulted in two civilian injuries and significant agricultural losses, according to regional military administration head Serhii Lysak. Ukrainian forces intercepted 24 drones targeting the region, but several strikes reached their intended targets.

In Pavlohrad, a 70-year-old man sustained injuries and required hospitalization after attacks damaged a transport enterprise and triggered multiple fires.

The assault also struck the local railway station, disrupting tracks and contact networks, though Ukraine’s national railway company Ukrzaliznytsia reported no casualties among passengers or staff.

Russian forces deployed FPV drones against three communities in the Synelnykivskyi district, destroying a farm and killing approximately 20 head of cattle, while damaging private enterprises.

In Mezhivska community, FPV drone attacks wounded one woman and destroyed five vehicles.

Previous day’s deadly strike

The latest assault followed a devastating missile attack on 29 July that struck Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

That attack partially destroyed a three-story non-residential building and damaged nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and city hospital department.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the death toll reached three people, including 23-year-old pregnant woman Diana, with the total number of casualties rising to 22.

Russian forces conducted a large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine during the night of 28 July, targeting multiple regions across the country, with Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Khmelnytskyi and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts sustaining the most damage and casualties.

According to regional authorities, at least 10 people were injured in the attacks, including three children aged 2, 3, and 15 years old.

On 27 and 28 July, Russia launched 331 aerial weapons, comprising 324 strike drones of Shahed type and decoy drones, 4 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and 3 Kh-47 M2 “Kinzhal” aeroballistic missiles, the Air Force reported.

Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 311 of the attacking weapons by 09:30, including 309 strike drones and 2 cruise missiles. The primary target direction was Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, according to the military.

Eight civilians injured in Kyiv

In the capital, the Darnytskyi district bore the brunt of the attack when a residential 25-story building was struck.

According to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko, the blast wave shattered windows and damaged balcony glazing from the 3rd to 11th floors in one entrance, with additional window damage throughout the building.

The National Police reported five people injured by shrapnel, including a 2-year-old girl who suffered lacerations to her foot. However, Tkachenko provided updated casualty figures, stating that eight people were injured overall, with four requiring hospitalization, one in serious condition. Among the hospitalized was a 3-year-old child with shrapnel wounds.

“The Russians cynically once again launch enemy strike UAVs at civilian objects, at our people,” Tkachenko wrote.

The courtyard and several cars parked near the building were also damaged, according to both the National Police and city administration. 

Philharmonic hall damaged in Kropyvnytskyi

The city of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine experienced a drone attack that resulted in a fire, according to local authorities. No casualties were reported, but the blast wave damaged the premises of the regional philharmonic hall. Emergency services continued firefighting operations as of the morning report.

Two people injured in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

Two people were injured in drone and artillery attacks on the Nikopol district, according to Regional Administration Head Serhii Lysak. The casualties included a 15-year-old girl and a 49-year-old woman, both receiving outpatient treatment.

Lysak reported that Russian forces attacked the area with drones and artillery, affecting the district center and several communities including Marhanets, Myriv, Chervonohryhorivka, and Pokrovsk.

The attacks damaged an educational institution, one apartment building, three private houses, three utility buildings, and power lines, while also causing fires.

While Ukraine proposes peace, Russians again terrorize cities with missiles and drones. After talks in Istanbul where Ukraine offered a complete ceasefire, occupying Russian forces immediately struck Ukrainian cities, says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Yesterday at the meeting in Istanbul, the Russian side was again offered the proposal to immediately and fully cease fire. In response, Russian drones struck residential buildings and the ‘Pryvoz’ market in Oblast, apartment buildings in Cherkasy, energy infrastructure in Kharkiv region, a university gym in Zaporizhzhia, and targets in Donetsk, Sumy, and Mykolaiv regions,” Zelenskyy claims.

Pryvoz is one of the oldest and most famous markets in Odesa, a living iconic part of the city’s culture and history. Founded in 1827, it was the economic heart of the city, supplying food to Odesa and the region.

It became not only the main shopping place for locals but also a hub of Odesa’s humor. There, sellers and customers joke during bargaining, shout sayings, and win over buyers. It is believed that the unique Odesa dialect, the city’s distinctive linguistic culture, began forming there.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that Russia not only continues its terror but also blocks diplomatic efforts, thus deserving harsh sanctions and strikes on its logistics, military bases, and production facilities.

“We will do everything to make diplomacy work. But it is Russia that must stop this war it started,” the Ukrainian president stresses. 

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Kyiv forces would receive secret weapons to “influence” Russia’s territory. He did not mention specific names or dates for the deliveries.

As Putin vows summer escalation, Berlin says Kyiv will soon gain secret tools to “affect Russian territory”

Wadephul added that European partners worked intensively on delivering weapons to Ukraine. The issue is not about finances but about the defense industry’s production capacity.

Russian forces conducted widespread drone attacks across multiple Ukrainian regions overnight on 20 July, killing at least one person and injuring several others while causing significant damage to residential areas.

The assault involved 57 Shahed strike drones and decoy aircraft, representing a relatively modest scale compared to Russia’s typical mass drone attacks, which often involve hundreds of aircraft and have reached over 700 drones in a single night.

According to the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 18 of the attacking drones, while electronic warfare systems suppressed or caused the loss of seven additional aircraft. The military reported that 32 drones struck targets across 10 locations, with debris from intercepted aircraft falling in six areas. 

Russian strike kills one civilian, destroys three homes

The deadliest impact occurred in northeastern Sumy Oblast near the front line, where a 78-year-old woman was killed during a Russian drone attack on residential areas in Svesa community, according to the State Emergency Service. Four strike drones targeted a village, causing three residential buildings to ignite immediately upon impact.

Rescue operations faced significant delays because Russian forces conducted follow-up strikes on the same locations where emergency workers needed to operate. Despite the dangerous circumstances and intense fire conditions, emergency personnel successfully extinguished all blazes and prevented the fire from reaching two nearby residential buildings.

Residential areas sustain damage

Southern Zaporizhzhia and surrounding areas faced intensive attacks involving at least 14 strike drones and two multiple rocket launcher system strikes, according to Regional Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov. The bombardment damaged seven private residences and caused window and facade damage to apartment buildings, while also sparking multiple fires. A 69-year-old woman sustained injuries in the attacks.

The nearby settlement of Prymorske also came under assault, where a Russian drone directly struck a residential building, injuring two elderly women aged 64 and 73.

Father and daughter injured

In southern Kherson Oblast, Russian forces targeted the settlement of Zymivnyk, resulting in injuries to a 17-year-old girl and her 51-year-old father, both of whom required hospitalization, according to Regional Military Administration head Oleksandr Prokudin.

“As a result of the enemy attack, the 17-year-old girl sustained explosive and traumatic brain injuries, concussion, and shrapnel wounds to the shin. The 51-year-old man sustained explosive trauma, thermal burns to the chest and poisoning from combustion products,” Prokudin reported. Both victims are receiving medical treatment at local hospitals.

Russian Shaheds now carry napalm and break through Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. Moscow continues to upgrade its Shahed attack drones, enhancing their warheads, engines, and protection, says Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a military expert, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

“Recently, we discovered a fluid in a Shahed’s warhead that resembled napalm. It not only spreads but keeps burning even in sand. This is terrorism, when drones attack residential areas with incendiary mixtures that cannot be extinguished,” explains Beskrestnov.

According to him, such weapons are absolutely inappropriate for warfare in large cities. Russia is also using at least 4–5 different types of warheads on Shahed drones, expanding their operational roles, from striking industrial targets to deliberate terror against civilians.

Flash reports that Russian engineers have upgraded Shahed engines, allowing them to reach speeds of up to 220 km/h in favorable weather conditions. However, the expert notes that this speed increase is not a decisive advantage: “Globally, whether it’s 180 or 200 km/h. It doesn’t change much.”

The most serious threat now comes from the improved Shahed defense systems against Ukrainian electronic warfare.

“We are increasingly seeing the same target being hit repeatedly. This indicates electronic warfare’s failure to disrupt navigation,” says Beskrestnov.

According to him, Chinese reinforced antennas have been found among the drone wreckage, successfully breaking through Ukrainian electronic warfare defenses.

“Our electronic warfare systems simply aren’t designed to handle such a number of elements. That’s why urgent modernization is needed,” the expert emphasizes.

Beskrestnov separately emphasized that electronic warfare systems do not physically destroy drones but only help protect targets and give air defense systems time to strike them.