UN reports surge in Ukrainian civilian casualties as strikes and drone attacks persist

Russian air defenses intercepted 12 drones heading toward Moscow on July 28, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, causing brief operational disruptions at local airports.

Concurrently, Russian forces executed widespread strikes across several Ukrainian regions. In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, local officials reported more than 50 drone and artillery bombardments targeting Nikopol and surrounding districts, leaving three people dead and six injured. In Zaporizhzhia, a drone strike on a commercial venue wounded four individuals, including two children, while an attack near a residential high-rise building in Kharkiv injured one person.

At a UN Security Council briefing, UN official Kayoko Gotoh highlighted a sharp surge in Ukrainian civilian casualties during July. She cited widespread strikes on residential neighborhoods, public infrastructure, and commercial sites, noting that attacks in Kyiv alone resulted in at least 56 deaths and 232 injuries over the month.

Sources: Ukrinform