At least 12 people were killed Sunday in missile and drone attacks across Russia and Ukraine, including a Russian strike that devastated a famous book market in Kyiv and one of Ukraine’s largest aerial attacks on Moscow since the war began.
Russia said Ukraine launched more than 820 drones overnight, with around 600 heading toward Moscow. Most were intercepted, according to Russian officials, but others struck targets in several regions.
In the southern Rostov region, which Russia said was targeted by more than 150 drones, strikes in three towns killed five people. Two more people were reported killed in the Belgorod and Moscow regions.
Near Moscow, Ukraine struck a newly built warehouse belonging to Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries in Podolsk, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky.
Wildberries, often described as Russia’s answer to Amazon, is a major pillar of the country’s retail economy. Over the past two months, Ukrainian drones have hit a series of its warehouses and facilities, disrupting operations and destroying merchandise.
Kyiv says it targets Wildberries facilities because the company is also used to transport military equipment to Russian forces on the front.
In Ukraine, two people were killed and 14 wounded in a strike on the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown. The plant, one of Ukraine’s largest steel producers, said it had partially suspended operations.
Two more people were killed in Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and the northern Sumy region.
In Kyiv, a strike hit the popular open-air Pochaina book market, known for its rare and antique books. Bookseller Dmytro Samnukha watched four of his stalls burn.
“There was a shop here. There were books, flags from all countries, huge quantities of everything. It’s all gone,” the 45-year-old said.
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky
(Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Zelensky condemned the attacks, saying Russian ballistic missiles were continuing to hit civilian infrastructure.
“Everywhere the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” he said on social media.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine faced more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles over the past week. He again called on Western allies to provide additional air-defense capabilities.
Ukraine is facing a particular shortage of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors, the only system in its arsenal capable of intercepting Russia’s most advanced ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian Air Force has recently stopped publishing its daily missile-interception reports, a move that has fueled concern that Kyiv may be increasingly unable to counter some Russian missile attacks.
Strikes deepen on both sides
The overnight attacks continued a broader escalation between Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, with both sides increasingly targeting infrastructure and civilian areas.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks not only on Wildberries warehouses but also on oil refineries and fuel storage sites across Russia, contributing to a fuel crisis this summer. Kyiv has also targeted ports and vessels in the Black Sea.
A huge plume of smoke rises from the Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk
(Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
Russia, meanwhile, has struck gas stations, warehouses and railway infrastructure across Ukraine. Russian attacks on Odesa’s port and ships using it have severely disrupted Ukrainian maritime exports.
The growing use of long-range drones has brought the war increasingly deep into Russian territory, while Moscow continues to pound Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure with missiles, drones and guided bombs.
Drone shot down over Romania
Meanwhile, a drone that entered Romanian airspace and was believed by NATO officials to have been launched by Russia was shot down early Sunday near Romania’s borders with Ukraine and Moldova.
The drone was intercepted at 4:44 a.m. by a Spanish fighter jet deployed on a NATO mission in Romania.
The incident came only weeks after Romanian pilots shot down three drones within three days amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border.
Romania and Spain are both NATO members, making repeated drone incursions into Romanian airspace a growing concern for the alliance as the fighting approaches NATO territory.
North Korea signals support for Russia
The latest escalation also came amid Ukrainian accusations that North Korea is preparing to send additional forces to support Russia.
North Korea’s state news agency reported Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring that he was “proud” of the relationship between the two countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to North Korea in June 2024
(Photo: Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have deepened sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two countries signed a mutual defense treaty in 2024, and thousands of North Korean troops fought alongside Russian forces in 2024 and 2025 against Ukrainian troops who had entered Russia’s Kursk region.
Zelensky has recently claimed that Pyongyang is preparing to send between 30,000 and 50,000 additional soldiers to reinforce Russian forces, though he has not disclosed the source of those figures or provided a possible timetable.
Last week, he also said Russia had carried out deadly attacks in Ukraine using North Korean-made ballistic missiles.