Russia-Ukraine war kills 15 as fresh strikes hit Zaporizhzhia and Sumy

Moscow,UPDATED: Jul 25, 2026 21:50 IST

Fresh Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed people on both sides on Saturday, as the war continued with no sign of easing. Moscow-installed officials in the partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region said Ukrainian attacks on holiday camps killed 12 people, while authorities in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region said a Russian drone strike killed three people there.

The attacks came a day after a major Russian strike near Kyiv killed at least 10 people and injured around 100. The latest exchange also came as Ukraine's drone campaign inside Russia has targeted high-profile sites, slowed Russian advances and hit oil and fuel facilities, adding to pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

In Zaporizhzhia, Kremlin-installed regional head Yevgeny Balitsky said four children were among the 12 people killed in the attack on the resorts and that 19 others were injured. Ukraine did not immediately comment. Elsewhere in the region, a Russian drone attack late on Friday hit a shopping centre, sparking a fire that spread across 500 square metres and injuring several people, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

In Sumy, regional head Oleh Hryhorov said three people were killed after a large fire broke out when a Russian drone hit a "civilian facility". He said those killed were drivers for private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta. Russia's defence ministry said it had attacked a "storage and launch site" for Ukrainian drones in the Sumy region.

In his evening address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said intelligence assessments showed that Russia was preparing missiles for a large attack and that there were signs this could happen within the next 48 hours. On Saturday, a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire at the Tyumen Oil Refinery in western Siberia, according to Tyumen regional Governor Aleksandr Moor. Writing on X, Zelenskyy also confirmed strikes on the Tyumen plant, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg and a fuel and lubricants warehouse in Rostov-on-Don.

In Washington, a White House official said US President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy plan to meet on Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as Trump's schedule had not yet been announced. Kyiv did not immediately comment, though Zelenskyy said on Friday that Kyiv was "preparing for a meeting with the President of the United States and his team". A memorial service in Washington for late Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong supporter of Kyiv, is also scheduled for Tuesday.

Romania's defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had "safely shot down" a drone that entered its airspace in an "unpopulated area" near the Ukrainian border. President Nicu Or Dan said on Facebook that the drone was brought down by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16 aircraft. It was the second such interception in two days, after another drone was shot down near Padina, northeast of Bucharest, on Friday. Drone incursions linked to the war have also affected other NATO countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta and three other sea drones exploded outside the port, with no injuries reported. In May, a Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine went off course and hit an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people. The latest developments underlined the widening reach of the conflict, with deadly strikes in Ukraine and Russian-held territory, Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia, diplomatic movement involving Washington, and fresh airspace breaches in neighbouring Romania.

With PTI Inputs

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