Russian and Ukrainian long-range strikes kill at least 21

At least 21 people were killed Friday in Russian and Ukrainian long-range strikes, including a Russian missile strike near Kyiv, a Russian aerial bomb attack on Sloviansk and Ukrainian attacks inside Russia.

Ukraine's prosecutor general said the Russian strike outside Kyiv killed at least 10 people and wounded around 100. Other Ukrainian officials and defence industry figures said the missile hit an event showcasing drones and high-tech weapons west of the capital. Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into who decided to hold the event and whether risks were properly assessed under martial law.

Andriy Grytseniuk, head of the state-backed defence group Brave1, described the strike as a tragedy and said it hit an event organised by a private association of manufacturers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was interested only in continuing the killing.

A Russian aerial bomb also killed five people in the frontline city of Sloviansk and damaged Latvia's honorary consulate there.

Ukraine launched long-range drone and missile attacks on Russia overnight. Moscow said an attack on a factory in Kirov, more than 1,000 kilometres from the front line, killed six people and wounded 26. Kirov governor Alexander Sokolov said the victims were killed at the site. Zelensky said the Kirov facility supplied components for Russian aircraft and missile systems used in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine also struck warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries outside Saint Petersburg. Zelensky, who has accused the company of storing drone components and helping the Russian army, called the strikes successful. Ukraine says its attacks inside Russia are meant to weaken Moscow's war effort and push the Kremlin toward negotiations.

The attacks came as both sides have intensified drone and missile strikes while diplomacy on ending the four-and-a-half-year war remains stalled. The United Nations said civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war rose 37 percent in the first half of this year, almost double the number documented in 2024.