Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A Russian ballistic missile and drone barrage across Ukraine overnight killed at least eight civilians, including children and injured more than 50 others, officials said Thursday (July 30, 2026), and NATO scrambled its warplanes after one of the missiles crossed the country’s western border into Poland.

Also read | Zelenskyy hails ‘good’ Trump talks on Patriot interceptor production and Russia talks

The blitz expanded Russia’s almost daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv where tens of thousands spent the night sheltering in subway stations, as Moscow apparently looked to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Western-supplied anti-ballistic missile defenses.

NATO said a Russian missile entered Polish airspace during the onslaught and landed in a rural area. It caused no injuries or damage but could deepen tensions between the military alliance and Moscow, as wary European countries fear the four-year-old war could spill into their territory.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called it “yet another reckless act by Russia and a dangerous consequence of its war against Ukraine.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said it was “a very serious incident,” but added: “There are absolutely no reasons to believe that Poland was the target.”

Russia’s barrage struck areas of Ukraine where weapons are believed to be stored and manufactured. Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles have battered Russia’s oil sector, causing a fuel crisis.

The attack came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump and representatives of American defense companies as he pleaded for swifter and bigger deliveries of Patriot air defense systems to stop Russia’s ballistic missiles.

The Iran war has drained stockpiles of the U.S.-made interceptors. Trump has promised to grant Ukraine licenses to build its own Patriots, but production could take many months.

“Given the critical shortage of air defense missiles from our partners, our warriors are accomplishing truly incredible things, demonstrating a very high level of professionalism,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

“This Russian terror once again proves that protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people,” he said.

Zelenskyy said at least 10 Ukrainian regions were attacked, with dozens of homes, businesses and infrastructure facilities destroyed or damaged.

Russia launched more than 70 missiles, a significant number of them ballistic missiles, he said, and over 280 attack drones, of which more than 260 were intercepted.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it targeted Ukrainian air bases, arms factories and military telecommunications and logistics facilities, including drone factories and storage depots, as well as plants for missiles, aircraft repairs, electronics and chemicals.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Russian attack killed six people and wounded 10, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, in a post on Telegram. Children were among the dead — a 6-year-old girl and boys aged 11 and 17 in the area of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, Hanzha added.

The children’s parents were killed in the same attack, but two more children were pulled alive from the rubble, Zelenskyy said.

“It was an ordinary home, blown (to) smithereens by a ballistic missile,” he said on X.

In Kyiv, Russian forces struck the capital with ballistic missiles, killing a 31-year-old man and wounding two others, the National Police press service said.

More than 56,000 people sheltered in Kyiv’s subway stations overnight, according to the Facebook post from the metro system.

A cruise missile attack struck the western city of Lviv, killing one person and wounding over 30, including children aged 6, 13 and 15, said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration.

In the Poltava region, a drone hit warehouses, killing one person, said regional military head Vitalii Diakivnych.

Russian forces also dropped three powerful glide bombs on an industrial zone in the southern city of Kherson, killing a 56-year-old man, local officials said.

A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Poland overnight, violating NATO airspace, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, calling it a clear demonstration that strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses would also guarantee wider European security.

Responding to the missile alert, NATO forces in Poland scrambled two fighter jets, an attack helicopter and two other aircraft, and activated ground defenses, said Col. Michael O’Connell, the spokesperson for the alliance’s military command in Belgium.

The missile quickly disappeared from radar, the Polish Armed Forces said. A helicopter flew to its last known location, where the crew discovered a probable impact site in a farming area in Lublin province, the command said.

Investigators found fragments indicating that the object was a Kh-101 missile, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Tusk had met with Zelenskyy in Lublin on Wednesday to discuss defense issues.

NATO military commander Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich told Poland’s Defense Chief Gen. Wiesław Kukułan the military alliance “will continue to take all necessary measures to defend NATO territory,” O’Donnell said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 258 Ukrainian drones overnight.

A depot belonging to the Wildberries online retailer was set ablaze in Russia’s Penza region southeast of Moscow, in the latest strike on the company’s warehouses, Penza Gov. Oleg Melnichenko.

Four people were injured and 200 workers were evacuated, he said, adding that about 100 firefighters were deployed.

Wildberries also reported its warehouse in Sarapul in the Udmurtia region more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine, was struck by a Ukrainian drone and set ablaze. It said the workers had been safely evacuated.

The Russian online news outlet Astra reported that another Wildberries depot in the Perm region in the Urals was also set ablaze by a Ukrainian drone strike. Regional authorities reported a Ukrainian drone attack but didn’t give information about the damage.

Thursday’s attacks on Wildberries warehouses brought to 14 the number of the retailer’s depots struck by Ukrainian drones in under two weeks. Ukraine accuses Wildberries of supplying goods that can be used by the Russian military.

Ukrainian drone units destroyed four more vessels belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” of sanctions-busting tankers, bringing the total to 205 since the operation began July 6, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, said on his Telegram channel.

The story so far:

On July 26, 2026, the External Affairs Ministry issued an advisory for Indian seafarers joining commercial vessels in the Black Sea region. The Ministry said the security situation in the area “remains highly volatile due to the ongoing conflict”. It was referring to the four-year-old Russian war on Ukraine.

The Ministry said merchant ships in these waters are “facing significant security risks, including missile and drone attacks” and since April 2026, the number of such attacks has gone up leading to “the tragic loss of five Indian lives.” It advised Indian seafarers “to carefully assess” the security risks before accepting assignments.

Urging sailors to “exercise the utmost caution”, the Ministry said they must procure “comprehensive information” from employers, recruitment agencies and ship operators regarding the vessel’s route, ports of call, security arrangements, insurance coverage, and emergency response procedures.

Hinting at the operation of so-called ‘shadow’ fleets, or sanctioned ships, the Ministry said that seafarers must ensure that the terms of employment “comply with applicable international maritime standards and provide adequate provisions for medical care, evacuation, repatriation, and compensation in the event of an emergency.”

Why the advisory?

The advisory comes amid attacks on international commercial vessels reportedly by both Ukraine and Russia. On July 18, an Indian was killed when a ship, MV Omorfi, was hit while it was “transiting Russian territorial waters” in the Black Sea. The ship had three Indian nationals in a crew of 10. On July 19, MV Golden Leo was attacked off the coast of Ukraine, in which 10 sailors, including four Indians, were killed. New Delhi summoned the Russian Charge d’affaires following the attack. On Saturday (July 25) night, two Indian sailors went missing after a merchant vessel was struck in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv said.

Why is Russia attacking Odessa?

Russia has been pounding the Odessa region with missiles and drones as part of its renewed war efforts. According to Ukrainian media outlet RBC-Ukraine, Moscow has “intensified its attacks on the Odessa region, using missiles and new types of drones.”

With its seven ports, Odessa is key to Ukraine’s maritime logistics as it has a long coastline along the Black Sea and borders Romania and Moldova.

According to Maritime Executive, a trade magazine, Ukraine shipped more than 197 million tonnes of cargo in the past three years despite the war through a safe corridor. This includes 117 million tonnes of grain.

RBC-Ukraine quoted Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for the Ukrainian Air Force, as saying: “The unique feature of Odessa’s location is its long coastline, where many infrastructure facilities are concentrated. It is also home to significant economic assets of Ukraine, particularly maritime logistics.”

The report said that Russia is sending aircraft and firing missiles from occupied Crimea to “damage port infrastructure, civilian vessels, and shipping-related facilities.”

The Russian attacks are aimed at crippling the Ukrainian economy, hit imports and enforce a maritime blockade. According to Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk, Russia’s “desire to damage our export and import capabilities has not changed.”

“Nor has its goal of preventing Ukraine from maintaining civilian maritime traffic. The ambitions of the Russian dictator remain the same, including the maritime blockade of Ukraine that he publicly reiterated at the end of last year,” The Odessa Journal reported him as saying.

Another RBC-Ukraine report said that following Russian attacks on port infrastructure and foreign ships, Ukraine’s “maritime exports have effectively come to a halt”.

The report cited a statement from Oleh Kiper, head of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, in which he said that Russia has pounded the Odessa region for the third consecutive week and that every day, there are “at least 10 air raid alerts” during which Russia hits the ports and the city with missiles and drones.

“People remain in a constant state of anxiety because the attacks have not stopped for three weeks. The enemy is very actively attacking Odessa and the ports,” Mr. Kiper was quoted as saying. He also referred to the July 19 strike in which Indian seafarers were killed and said the Russian attack was “deliberate”.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive

For its part, Ukraine has increased drone production and has pummelled Russian energy infrastructure, disrupting production. Oil is Russia’s major revenue source and keeps its war engine, though enervated, running.

Reports said that on Saturday (July 25), Ukraine drones hit 21 Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov. Besides, it has stepped up drone attacks on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia had annexed in 2014 and uses as a launchpad for attacks on Ukraine.

The Sheskharis terminal, Russia’s biggest oil-exporting facility on the Black Sea, at the Novorossiysk port, has suspended tanker loadings after Ukraine drones rained down. The port accounts for almost 20% of Russia’s crude oil exports. The Ukrainian attacks have disrupted fuel supply within more than 10 Russian regions, one report said. Fuel stations have rationed or halted sales. It said that there is a “logistical lockdown” in Crimea.

Are Indians being targeted?

Targeting international shipping has become a “new tactic” to build pressure, Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, told The Hindu. “In conflict zones, the softest international target is the mariner. The forces that attack merchant ships have all the information. They deliberately target these ships to grab more attention,” he said. Mr. Yadav said the Indian government must step in and file a petition with the United Nations. “India must seek the support of all nations to stop these killings,” he said. He said that the International Maritime Organisation, being a UN regulatory body, should take up these attacks with the countries and ensure that the shipping lines are secured.

Published – July 27, 2026 11:56 am IST

An agricultural worker operates a combine during wheat harvesting in a field, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A large ballistic missile attack pounded Kyiv early on Sunday (May 24, 2026), authorities said, wounding at least five people after Moscow threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, causing a residential building near the government district to shake, while dozens took shelter in an underground metro station in the city centre, according to AFP journalists.

“The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said five people had been wounded and one of them hospitalised.

“There are currently reports of at least 4 locations affected by the attack: Shevchenkivsky, Dniprovsky and Podilsky districts. Fires and damage to residential buildings are preliminarily reported,” Mr. Tkachenko said.

“A strike drone attack is ongoing; the ballistic missile threat remains present. Stay in shelters!”

Ukrainian authorities and the U.S. Embassy had earlier warned of a possible significant attack on the capital after Russia said it would “punish” those responsible for deadly strikes in a part of eastern Ukraine under its control.

Mr. Klitschko said medical teams were called to the Podilsky district in Kyiv’s northwest, where debris fell in a non-residential area.

The attack also sparked a fire near a residential building in nearby Shevchenkivsky, he added.

Missile attack warning

Kyiv had earlier warned it was expecting a major Russian missile attack after its own forces launched a drone barrage in the Russian-occupied east, which Moscow said hit a college dormitory and killed at least 18 people.

Launched overnight on Thursday (May 21, 2026) to Friday (May 22, 2026), the drone salvo — one of Ukraine’s deadliest such strikes in months — also wounded 42 in Starobilsk, in the occupied Lugansk region, trapping people beneath the debris.

Ukraine denied targeting civilians, saying it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday (May 22, 2026) that those responsible would face “inevitable and severe punishment”.

On Saturday (May 23, 2026) both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued warnings about the risk of a major Russian airstrike in the coming hours.

“We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry” including the Oreshnik, a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic missile,Mr. Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.

The U.S. Embassy said it had “received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next 24 hours”.

Ukraine regularly targets Russian-controlled areas of the country with drones, saying the strikes are retaliation for Russian attacks.

Dormitory death toll

Russia’s Emergency Ministry said on Saturday (May 23, 2026) it had pulled two more bodies from the rubble of the dormitory, taking the death toll to 18.

Video shared by the Ministry showed dozens of rescuers sifting through what remained of a section of the five-storey building.

Most of those killed and missing were young women born between 2003 and 2008, according to a list of casualties published by the Moscow-backed governor of occupied Lugansk, Leonid Pasechnik.

“The region and the entire country share the fate of these people and the pain of their families,” he said on Telegram.

The United Nations said on Friday (May 22, 2026) it “strongly condemns any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur”, adding it could not verify details due to restricted access to the area.

Starobilsk lies about 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine. It was captured by Russian forces in the early months of the offensive in 2022.

Kyiv has recently expanded its drone capabilities and stepped up strikes on undisputed Russian territory, including residential areas and oil export infrastructure.

Moscow has launched mass barrages of missiles and drones at Ukraine almost daily since the full-scale offensive began in 2022, also hitting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. It denies targeting civilians.

U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an end to more than four years of war have slowed in recent months with Washington’s attention diverted towards its conflict in the Middle East.

Published – May 24, 2026 07:40 am IST

Municipal workers remove debris in front of a building damaged during overnight Russian drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine on May 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Firefighters arrive to the site of a fuel station which was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 2, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Smoke rises from a heavily damaged train station building in the town of Fastiv, Kyiv region, after an air attack, on December 6, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine
| Photo Credit: AFP

Russia fired a total of 381 drones and 35 missiles at Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s air force.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin during theira meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP