Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least two people overnight in Ukraine, authorities reported Saturday, a day after an attack on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih killed 16 people and wounded 130.
One of the victims in the latest attacks was an employee of Ukraine's national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia, who died in a ballistic missile strike on the railway in the capital Kyiv. Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that its forces targeted a locomotive depot. Local officials also reported that Russian drone strikes killed one person in Zaporizhzhia.
Kyiv has recently experienced intensified ballistic missile attacks from Moscow. Analysts suggest this is partly due to Ukraine's ongoing shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, which are currently the only weapon in its arsenal capable of intercepting these missiles.
Escalating Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure
The attack on Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, occurred Friday. Zelenskyy described it as a "double-tap strike," where an initial wave of drones was followed by a second wave as rescue workers arrived. The city has been a frequent target during the more than 4-year-old war; in April 2025, an attack killed 20 people, including nine children.
Large-scale Russian strikes have become a regular occurrence this summer. The attacks on Friday followed a nighttime assault by Russia on Kyiv, which involved scores of missiles and drones and killed 16 people. Over the past two weeks, Kyiv and its surrounding region have been hit hard multiple times, with 17 people killed in one strike and nine in another just two days prior. The United Nations reported last week that Kyiv was one of the hardest-hit cities in July, with at least 54 civilians killed and 202 injured.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has conducted long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, leading to fuel shortages within Russia. These strikes have also impacted warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, unsettling the Russian public.