Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine’s southeast and northeast, officials say

Russian strikes killed at least four people on Sunday in Ukraine’s southeast and northeast, a grim sign that civilian deaths continue far from the front lines even on days without a major battlefield shift. In Zaporizhzhia, a city that has repeatedly come under attack, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said two people were killed and 16 others were wounded when the strike tore through residential areas, setting one building on fire and leaving nearby homes badly damaged.

The casualty count in Zaporizhzhia shifted as rescue work continued. Ukrainian officials later revised the number of wounded to 11 and then 15, including two children, and one injured child was described as a five-year-old boy in critical condition. The moving tally showed how quickly the human cost of a strike can deepen as medics, firefighters and emergency crews pull survivors from damaged buildings and hospitals update their counts.

Farther north, a Russian missile strike hit the town of Zmiiv in Kharkiv region, killing one person and injuring eight others, including two children, according to Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Ukrainian reports identified the person killed as a 55-year-old woman and said the blast struck the Zmiiv hromada in Chuhuiv district. Kharkiv regional police also said one of their officers died while helping organize an evacuation in another community, adding another emergency worker to the war’s death toll.

The strikes landed in two different parts of the country, underscoring how Russian attacks continue to reach populated areas in both southeastern and northeastern Ukraine. The pattern has become familiar: residential damage, children among the injured, and local officials posting updates in real time as the numbers change. Russia and Ukraine both deny deliberately targeting civilians, but civilian casualties remain a central feature of the war.

The broader toll has remained high. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said at least 238 civilians were killed and 1,404 injured in April 2026, the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since July 2025. The mission also said June 2025 saw 232 killed and 1,343 injured, the highest monthly total in three years. In a separate report covering Dec. 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 968 civilians killed and 4,807 injured, with most casualties caused by Russian long-range explosive weapons in populated areas and short-range drones near frontline communities.