Ukraine sees deadliest civilian casualties since 2022 as Russian attacks surge

Government figures show that Russian attacks this month killed at least 377 Ukrainian civilians and injured 2,129, making it the deadliest month of the war since April 2022. The assaults featured roughly 1,700 drones, more than 1,630 guided aerial bombs and over 50 ballistic missiles, many of which struck the capital Kyiv and targeted energy infrastructure, including several oil refineries.

President Volodymyr Zelensky urged more Patriot and similar air‑defence systems, saying, "We must undercut Russia’s gamble on ballistic terror," and added that every interceptor missile "literally helps save lives if it is here, in Ukrainian systems, not in our partners’ warehouses." In response, Russia extended its ban on diesel exports until year‑end and retaliated by hitting fuel stations in northern Ukraine and increasing strikes on Black Sea ports and the Danube River.

For the third day in a row, the Romanian air force shot down a Russian drone over the Black Sea, prompting President Nicușor Dan to call the violation "inadmissible and intolerable" and to summon the Russian ambassador in Bucharest.