Ukrainian strikes inside Russia and Russian attacks across Ukraine left dozens dead and many more injured in a renewed escalation of cross-border violence, officials from both countries said.
Casualties and Local Damage
Russian regional officials reported nine people killed and 23 injured — including a child — in Ukrainian strikes inside Russia over the past 24 hours. Authorities in Belgorod said eight people died after strikes in the border region, and acting governor Alexandr Shuvaev reported a building fire and a damaged car in the village of Koloskovo; an injured child was hospitalised and two others received medical care.
In the southern Astrakhan region, governor Igor Babushkin said a drone hit a home overnight, killing a woman. He added that an industrial site appeared to have been the intended target but sustained no damage.
Ukrainian firefighters tackle a blaze after a Russian strike that destroyed a famous book market in Kyiv. Photo: 16 August 2026 [Reuters]
Ukrainian officials reported civilian casualties and damage from Russian strikes inside Ukraine. The state emergency service, DSNS, said two people were killed in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk region, where a market blaze destroyed 54 trading pavilions. Regional authorities in Sumy reported that a man and a woman died in an overnight drone attack. Local officials in Odesa said a civilian vessel was damaged and four people were hurt in a separate strike.
Wider Wave Of Attacks
Moscow described the previous night as suffering Ukraine's "largest-scale" attack this year; Russian officials said at least seven people died in that wave. Ukrainian officials said some 822 drones were launched toward Russia that night, with roughly 600 reportedly aimed at Moscow — a campaign one regional governor called one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory.
During those strikes, Russian regions reported further casualties: five people were killed in Rostov, a woman died after a civilian bus was hit in Belgorod, and an 83-year-old man was killed in the Moscow region. Russian authorities also reported damage to a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer.
People walking in a graveyard by a Wildberries facility near Podolsk in the Moscow region on 16 August [EPA]
Targets, Motives and Official Statements
Kyiv has increasingly targeted logistics hubs and transport nodes inside Russia in recent weeks. Ukraine's defence ministry says distribution centres — including Wildberries logistics sites — are used in part to move military equipment; it claimed that seven of the 10 largest Wildberries logistics centres had been rendered inoperable. Maj Gen Vadym Skibitski, deputy head of Ukraine's intelligence service, told the BBC that long-range strikes will continue and defended attacks on distribution facilities as measures to disrupt Russian logistics. He denied deliberate targeting of civilians and said some Russian deaths resulted from air defences downing incoming drones and missiles.
Russia, meanwhile, has intensified missile and aerial-bomb attacks across Ukraine. Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz reported its facilities were struck 13 times in the past week. Russian officials said their strikes on Kyiv targeted a FirePoint facility that produced parts for Flamingo missiles and a factory making drone components. Strikes also destroyed a book market in Kyiv's Pochayna district, where burnt books were reported on the ground.
Humanitarian and Strategic Impact
President Volodymyr Zelensky said attacks struck 13 regions last week and listed thousands of aerial munitions reportedly used: more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles. Both sides continue to accuse each other of deliberately or recklessly striking civilian areas. The strikes — including hits on ports, logistics hubs and energy infrastructure — risk further disrupting trade, grain exports and civilian life on both sides of the front line.
Note: Casualty figures and damage reports are based on statements by regional and national officials from both Russia and Ukraine and have not been independently verified.
