Russian strike kills 10 in northeast Ukraine

KIEV

This handout photo shows flame and smoke rising from a construction site after a Ukrainian drone attack in an undisclosed area in the Moscow region. (AP photo)

A Russian attack on a village in the Kharkiv region of northeast Ukraine killed 10 people, the local governor said on Aug. 18.

The strike comes amid a surge in civilian deaths in the four-and-a-half-year war.

Russian forces “carried out a rocket strike on Pechenigy,” a village around 40 kilometers from the Russian border, Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on social media.

“According to preliminary information, 10 people were killed,” he added, with eight people wounded.
The strike damaged private houses and shops, he added.

The Kharkiv region, parts of which are occupied by Russian forces, has been hit heavily since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

According to the United Nations, more civilians have been killed in the war in recent months than in any period since the start of the invasion.

Meanwhile, A total of 620 drones flew towards the Moscow region overnight, Russian officials said on Aug. 18, reporting that several people were wounded and buildings were struck.

Russian air defenses destroyed more than 180 of the drones over the capital region, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the state-backed MAX platform.

The drone swarm wounded three people, including a 10-year-old girl, Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.

“Tonight and in the morning, air defense and electronic warfare forces were repelling a large-scale drone attack on Moscow region,” he said.

The “most serious consequences” were reported in the Pavlovsky Posad district, where a house burned down, Vorobyov said.