Conflict & Security
Russia-Ukraine strikes kill 19, authorities say
Strikes in Russia and Ukraine killed 19 people, authorities said Sunday, as drones and missiles hit civilian infrastructure on both sides of the war.
In Russia, Rostov regional governor Yuri Slusar said swarms of Ukrainian drones killed five people in a residential area. Authorities also reported three deaths in the Belgorod, Kursk and Moscow regions, and four more in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as “one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory”. Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted 822 drones across the country overnight.
In Ukraine, Russian drones and missiles killed two people and wounded 14 at ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown. The plant, one of Ukraine's biggest steel producers, said it partially halted operations after the strike damaged core production facilities.
Another strike hit Kryvyi Rih on Sunday evening, killing one person. Strikes also killed two people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, one in the border region of Sumy and one in Donetsk in the east.
In Kyiv, the Pochaina outdoor book market was hit. Bookseller Dmytro Semenukha told AFP all four of his stalls burned down.
Zelensky said Ukrainian cities had been hit over the past week by more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles. He renewed his appeal to allies for more air defence.
Romania's defence ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova after the overnight raid. NATO said Friday its fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the second such incident there in a week according to Latvia's defence ministry.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries, saying the company supplies components for Russian drones. A Wildberries warehouse near Moscow was set ablaze by Ukrainian drones overnight. Since mid-July, Ukraine has struck around 20 warehouses and buildings linked to the company.
Zelensky says those strikes, along with attacks on oil refineries, are aimed at undermining Russia's war economy.
Russia has carried out near-daily missile and drone strikes across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022. In July, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine, the highest monthly toll since May 2022, according to a United Nations tally. Russian authorities separately reported 79 civilians killed on their side in July.
Update
Authorities now report 19 people killed, up from 16 in the earlier published story.
Four people were reported killed in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia, up from three previously stated.
A later strike on Kryvyi Rih on Sunday evening killed one person.
One person was also reported killed in Donetsk.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 18:40:31 UTC.
Update
The reported death toll from the strikes rose from 12 to 16.
Authorities reported one additional death in Russia's Kursk region and three deaths in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
NATO said its fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace on Friday, according to the item.
A Wildberries warehouse near Moscow was set ablaze by Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the item.
Ukraine has struck around 20 warehouses and buildings linked to Wildberries since mid-July, according to the item.
A United Nations tally put civilian deaths in Ukraine in July at 437, the highest monthly toll since May 2022.
Russian authorities separately reported 79 civilians killed on their side in July.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 15:45:39 UTC.
Update
Authorities now report 12 people killed in overnight strikes across Russia and Ukraine.
Rostov governor Yuri Slusar said Ukrainian drones killed five people in a residential area of Russia's Rostov region.
Two more people were reported killed in Russia's Belgorod and Moscow regions.
Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted 822 drones across the country overnight.
A Russian strike on ArcelorMittal's steel plant in Kryvyi Rih killed two people and wounded 14, and the company said it partially halted operations after core production facilities were damaged.
Ukrainian officials reported two people killed in Zaporizhzhia region and one in Sumy region.
Kyiv's Pochaina outdoor book market was struck, burning booksellers' stalls.
Romania said a Spanish F-18 shot down a drone that breached Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 10:01:40 UTC.
Update
Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said six people were wounded in the Moscow region.
Russian strikes killed two people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region and one in Kryvyi Rig, Ukrainian officials said.
More than 20 people were wounded across Kyiv, Brovary, Kryvyi Rig, Odesa and Dnipetrovsk, according to the supplied account of official statements.
Romania's defence ministry said a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached Romanian airspace near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
A drone hit caused a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk, according to the Moscow regional governor.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 07:21:06 UTC.
Update
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 201 of the drones were destroyed in the Moscow region between Saturday evening and 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
Russian regional authorities said three people were killed and one was hospitalised in the southern Rostov region during the overnight assault.
Rostov governor Yuri Sliusar said Russian forces destroyed more than 150 drones and missiles over three cities and nine districts in the region.
Sliusar said residential and industrial buildings were damaged in Kamensky district and buildings in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky suffered roof and window damage.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 04:59:58 UTC.
Update
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Moscow was targeted by 600 drones overnight.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 03:48:05 UTC.
Update
Ukrainian authorities said Russian strikes killed one person and wounded at least seven others in Ukraine.
A regional governor said a woman was killed and six people were wounded in a combined ballistic missile and drone attack on Kryvyi Rig.
Oleksandr Vilkul said Russian forces struck two industrial sites in Kryvyi Rig.
Authorities said strikes in Kyiv wounded one person and caused fires at non-residential sites in the Obolonsky and Holosiivskyi districts.
Local officials said Kremenchuk in the Poltava region also came under attack, without giving damage or casualty details.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences intercepted more than 130 drones headed toward Moscow and that three people were wounded.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 03:20:37 UTC.
Update
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions were heard in the capital and described the city as being under ballistic missile attack.
Klitschko and authorities said a fire broke out in a non-residential building in Kyiv's Obolonsky district.
No casualties were specified in the supplied information.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian forces downed around 28 drones flying towards Moscow.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 August 2026 at 00:38:48 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The casualty figures are attributed to authorities and were not independently verified in the supplied material.
The source does not give a full breakdown of responsibility for every individual strike in all locations.
Ukraine's claims about Wildberries supplying drone components and Russia receiving support from North Korea are not independently verified in the supplied material.
Source
AFP news report published on .