At least 16 people were killed in Russian and Ukrainian attacks overnight, including a ballistic missile strike that killed 10 people just outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, according to a national official.
Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on social media that approximately 100 people were injured in the Kyiv region. Emergency services were still on the scene, with five additional fatalities reported in the eastern city of Sloviansk. The attack near Kyiv reportedly involved three ballistic missiles, only one of which was intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses, according to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat.
The strike occurred during the day at a training ground near Kyiv where a military exhibition was being held, attended by representatives of Ukraine's defense industry. This marks at least the third instance since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 that an exhibition of this nature has been targeted. The circumstances surrounding the event's public advertising and safety measures are under investigation by Ukrainian authorities, with the prosecutor general's office working to determine who authorized the event.
In retaliation, Ukraine launched drone attacks on the warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area, causing significant fires. This is the third time in six days that Ukrainian drones have targeted Wildberries warehouses across Russia. Previous attacks over the weekend hit facilities in Elektrostal, east of Moscow, and Kotovsk in the Tambov region. Those strikes resulted in seven workers killed on a night shift at Kotovsk and one fatality at Elektrostal, with dozens more injured and an estimated $1 billion worth of goods destroyed. The attacks on the retailer have impacted numerous small and medium-sized businesses within Russia.
Simultaneously, a Ukrainian strike near the Russian city of Kirov, over 1,000 kilometers behind the front lines, killed six people and wounded 26.
Reports suggest that the attacks near Kyiv may have specifically targeted Defence Ministry adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov, also known as Flash, and Lyuba Shypovych, who has been involved in developing technology for the Ukrainian army. Both individuals confirmed on social media that they were unharmed following the incident.