Russian drones kill two in market outside Kyiv, three others in different regions, officials say

On Sunday, Russian drones attacked a market on the western outskirts of Kyiv, killing two people and injuring around ten others, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. The attack, which occurred in a district known as Sofiiska Borshchahivka, left debris and installations in ruins, as evidenced by images circulating on social media. In the capital city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that nine individuals, including a child, sustained injuries, with six of them receiving medical treatment in hospitals.

Russian forces have been conducting frequent nighttime assaults on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, with strikes occurring almost continuously during the day in recent weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the latest attacks, emphasizing that the civilian targets clearly constituted "terrorism" and lacked any military objective on Russia's part.

"Russia has no military objective whatsoever in doing this," Zelensky asserted on social media. "It is purely an attempt to break people and inflict as much harm as possible on our society."

In the northern city of Sumy, three glide bombs targeted a family support center near the border, resulting in the deaths of two individuals. According to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov, who shared the news on Telegram, Russia has long expressed its intention to transform parts of the Sumy region into a buffer zone. In Kharkiv, the second-largest city in northeastern Ukraine and another frequent target, a drone strike caused severe damage to a car, leading to the death of the driver.

Zelensky disclosed that Russia had deployed 277 attack drones of various types since Saturday, with 155 of them being jet-powered drones that Russia has increasingly utilized due to their higher altitude and difficulty in interception. The targets in Kyiv included a building used as a residence by the Saudi Arabian ambassador.

Klitschko provided additional updates through Telegram, stating that a drone had struck a block of flats in an eastern suburb, causing a fire and resulting in one injury. Emergency crews managed to extinguish the blaze. Later, Klitschko reported another drone attack on a block of flats in a central district, with emergency services currently investigating possible casualties at the scene.

Earlier, drones had targeted areas near a kindergarten and a playground in two districts, and other districts in Kyiv also experienced damage. Ukraine's largest mobile service provider informed Interfax Ukraine news agency that Russian forces had struck its headquarters in continuing strikes on Ukrainian data centers and communications infrastructure, with no reported casualties. Both sides in the conflict deny targeting civilians.