Russia and Ukraine launched drone strikes against each other early on July 24, officials from both sides said, as fierce fighting continued to rage along the front line.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s overnight attack was a “response” to Kyiv’s proposal of an immediate cease-fire during Russian and Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul a day earlier.
Zelenskyy said the attack included more than a hundred strike drones and more than four missiles. Most of the drones used by Russia were Iranian-made Shahed drones, he added.
“Russia continues its terror and obstructs diplomacy, which is why it deserves full-scale sanctions responses, as well as our strikes on their logistics, their military bases, and their military production facilities,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Telegram post.
Local officials reported that the attack mostly targeted the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Odesa, and Cherkasy, leaving at least three people dead and dozens more injured.
Kharkiv’s military head Oleh Synehubov said the attack on the city included guided missiles, which Russian military forces often use on the front line to evade Ukrainian air defenses.
Six children, including a one-year-old girl, were injured in the attack, Synehubov added. Residential buildings, civilian cars, and an utility company also sustained damage.
A local resident told RFE/RL that she saw “everything destroyed” when she entered her apartment after the attack.
“Our neighbor hid between two walls. That’s what saved her life,” she added.
Separately, in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, drones caused several fires as well as damage in the historic center, a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Pryvoz market — a famous city landmark — was among the places hit, regional military head Oleh Kiper said.
“It is not just a place of trade, it is the living heart of Odesa,” he added.
Meanwhile, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said debris from a falling Ukrainian drone killed two women in Sochi, one of Russia’s most popular resort cities.
Operations at the local airport were suspended for about four hours, according to Russia’s aviation authority.
Eleven other people were injured when drone debris fell on an oil depot, Kondratyev said in a Telegram post. Dmitry Plishkin, the head of the local municipality where the depot is located, also reported the attack on his Telegram channel.
On the battlefield, fighting continued along key frontline areas, with the war-torn Donetsk region witnessing most of the clashes.
Over the past year, the region’s Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka areas have consistently recorded the highest number of combat engagements.
In May, RFE/RL’s Donbas.Realities reported that Russia had intensified its offensive on several fronts in the region, aiming to encircle Kostyantynivka — a key railway hub and a Ukrainian defense stronghold.
Vadym Filashkin, the local Ukrainian military head, said that Russian attacks on the city on July 24 alone killed at least two people and injured 14 others.
In a Telegram message posted after the attacks, Filashkin urged residents of the region to evacuate to safer areas in Ukraine.
