Key facts
- A Russian drone strike in northern Ukraine killed a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son.
- Four other people, including the boy's father and grandmother, were injured in the strike.
- The UN reported that July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since March 2022.
- In the Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb destroyed part of an apartment building, killing one and injuring 16.
- Ukraine conducted drone attacks on Russian infrastructure, including an oil and gas export terminal and a major online retailer's warehouse.
- NATO fighter jets intercepted and shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace.
Russian jet-powered drones struck a home in Ukraine's Sumy region early Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son. Four other people, including the boy's father and grandmother, were hospitalized with severe burns. This attack follows a UN report stating July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the initial weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion, with civilian casualties steadily increasing throughout the year.
In the eastern Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb destroyed six floors of a 10-story apartment block, resulting in one death and 16 injuries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia is deploying approximately 220 glide bombs daily against settlements near the front lines. He also noted that Russia attacks Ukrainian towns and cities with glide bombs, artillery, missiles, and drones, often rendering them uninhabitable.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has continued its long-range strikes against Russian infrastructure. Drone attacks targeted the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region, one of Russia's largest oil and gas export terminals, and the premises of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, which Kyiv claims supplies the Russian military. Russia's Defense Ministry reported intercepting 553 Ukrainian drones overnight across 18 Russian regions and occupied Crimea.
Separately, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early Friday. Latvian authorities suggested the drone's entry was a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare, with some drones previously crossing into Latvia believed to be Ukrainian aircraft that had strayed off course due to Russian jamming.