Russian forces have unleashed a major week-long barrage of drones, missiles, and guided aerial bombs across Ukraine.
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday, Aug. 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky detailed the scale of the recent bombardments.
Over the past week alone, Russia deployed 61 missiles (including 56 targeting ballistic trajectories), more than 1,560 attack drones, and 1,540 guided aerial bombs against Ukrainian cities.
“Every such strike against life reminds us again and again: we need more pressure, more sanctions against Russia, and more anti-aircraft defense for Ukraine,” the president said, noting he had received briefings on the consequences of the attacks from regional leaders.
Deadly strikes on Kharkiv high-rises
On Sunday morning, Aug. 9, Russian forces targeted the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported a direct hit on a multi-story residential building, which destroyed the seventh through tenth floors.
Terekhov reported that a second strike hit a neighboring high-rise shortly after, warning residents that the enemy was “deliberately targeting residential buildings.”
The strikes killed three people. The number of casualties has risen to 37, including a five-year-old boy. Eleven people suffered blast injuries, two were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, and several others experienced acute stress reactions. Rescue operations are ongoing as people remain trapped in the rubble.
Nighttime ballistic attacks on Odesa
Early Sunday morning, Russian forces also attacked Odesa with ballistic missiles and drones, prompting a series of explosions across the city.
The strikes damaged residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, and completely burned several vehicles across multiple districts.
Zelensky confirmed that at least eight people were injured in Odesa and that repair work is underway to restore the city’s power supply following a severe hit to the energy grid. The President also noted that the port was damaged, highlighting that “Russians systematically fight against the world’s food security.”
Weekend bombardments in Pavlohrad and Izium
The Sunday assaults followed a wave of deadly attacks on Saturday, Aug. 8. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian forces struck near a shopping center and energy facilities in the city center of Pavlohrad.
By Saturday evening, the casualty toll in Pavlohrad had risen to nine injured, including four children: a three-month-old girl, a three-year-old girl, and two boys aged five and six. A 58-year-old woman was hospitalized in severe condition.
Earlier on Saturday evening, Russian forces dropped two guided aerial bombs (KABs) on Izium in the Kharkiv region. The bombs struck a non-functioning civilian facility, causing a blast wave that damaged four apartment buildings and over a dozen vehicles.
Up to seven civilians sustained injuries of varying severity, including an 18-year-old and an 87-year-old woman.