Conflict & Security
Russia-Ukraine drone attacks kill eight, officials say
Drone attacks in Russia and Ukraine killed eight people on Wednesday, authorities on both sides said, including four people in a minibus in the frontline Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Ukraine's prosecutor's office said a Russian drone hit the Kherson minibus, killing four people and wounding one. Ukraine's police posted images showing blood on the vehicle floor, shattered windows and a damaged roof.
Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that the Russian drone operator must have known the vehicle was a civilian target. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian attacks on people in Kherson had gone beyond what a normal person could imagine.
In Zhytomyr, central Ukraine, the national police service said a Banderol drone-missile hit police headquarters, killing two officers and wounding at least 20 other people.
In Russia's Belgorod border region, emergency services said a Ukrainian drone hit a civilian car, killing a woman and wounding a man. In the Bryansk border region, a local official said another Ukrainian drone hit a civilian car, killing a woman and wounding her grandson.
Bryansk's acting governor Yegor Kovalchuk said an attack on a shopping centre wounded two people.
More than four years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv carry out regular long-range strikes against each other, and each side accuses the other of targeting civilians.
Update
Authorities reported six deaths in Ukraine and two in Russia from Wednesday drone attacks.
Ukraine's national police said a Banderol drone-missile hit police headquarters in Zhytomyr, killing two officers and wounding at least 20 others.
Russian emergency services said a Ukrainian drone hit a civilian car in Belgorod, killing a woman and wounding a man.
A Bryansk official said a Ukrainian drone hit another civilian car, killing a woman and wounding her grandson.
Bryansk's acting governor Yegor Kovalchuk said an attack on a shopping centre wounded two people.
The latest item says one person was wounded in the Kherson minibus attack, while the existing published story said five were wounded.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 19:18:24 UTC.
Update
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said five people were wounded in the attack.
Ukraine's police posted images showing blood on the vehicle floor, shattered windows and a damaged roof.
Zelensky described the attack as part of what he called a Russian "safari" against people in Kherson.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 09:27:25 UTC.
Update
Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin posted images showing the bus with shattered windows.
The prosecutor's office said preliminary information showed the four dead were civilian passengers.
The item adds context that Russian forces are positioned on the opposite bank of the Dnieper river from Kherson.
The United Nations has reported an uptick in civilian deaths in the conflict throughout 2026.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 07:39:39 UTC.
Update
The Kherson bus attack was described by the regional prosecutor's office as a Russian drone attack.
The prosecutor's office said four more people were wounded.
The prosecutor's office said preliminary information showed the dead were civilian passengers.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 07:22:01 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The latest item says one person was wounded in the Kherson minibus attack, while the existing published story said five were wounded; no explanation for the difference was supplied.
The supplied material does not provide independent verification of responsibility for each attack.
Source
AFP news report published on .