Photos: Zelenskyy urges ‘protection of life’ amid deadly Russian attacks
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- Russia fired more than 70 missiles, a significant number of them ballistic, and over 280 attack drones at Ukraine in overnight strikes into Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens.
- Ukrainian air defences shot down more than 260 of the incoming drones, but Zelenskyy said delays in anti-ballistic missile deliveries and untimely assistance contributed to the scale of casualties.
- Zelenskyy called protection against the Russian missile threat "the most important task" for saving lives and said the work cannot be "left to Ukraine alone or to any one country alone."
- Ukrainian officials reported the heaviest casualties and damage in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and the western Lviv region, with large-scale Russian strikes on cities now taking place almost weekly through the summer.
- Russia's Ministry of Defence said its air defences shot down 258 Ukrainian drones overnight, and a Wildberries online retailer depot in Penza was set on fire, injuring one person and forcing the evacuation of about 200 workers, per Penza Governor Oleg Melnichenko.
Why it matters: Russia's intensified summer bombardment — now almost weekly — included 70+ missiles, many ballistic, that current Ukrainian air defences cannot fully intercept. Zelenskyy's direct attribution of civilian deaths to delayed Western anti-ballistic missile shipments makes the urgency of those deliveries the story's sharpest material pressure point.
