Russian strikes kill at least 10 in Ukraine, hit Latvian consulate building

Russian forces dropped two aerial bombs on Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast on the afternoon of July 24, killing at least five people and wounding about 10, according to regional governor Vadym Filashkin and the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office. The strikes damaged private homes and the building of the honorary consulate of Latvia.

Simultaneously, Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on the Kyiv region. Explosions were heard in the capital. Initial reports from authorities did not mention casualties or damage. President Volodymyr Zelensky later said six people had been killed and dozens wounded. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office subsequently reported 10 dead and about 100 wounded.

According to social media posts, the target in the Kyiv region was a weapons exhibition. Valeriy Borovyk, founder of the company First Contact, said the strike was aimed at a "specific event" and that there were fatalities. The Ukrainian Association of Defense Industry Manufacturers said the strike hit a site where representatives of the defense sector were present, adding that the location of the event had not been publicly disclosed. Some reports indicated the strike hit a training ground hosting the Armada unmanned systems exhibition. This has not been officially confirmed.

Presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov (call sign Flash) wrote, without providing details, that neither he nor his team had been harmed.

Russia's Defense Ministry has not commented on these strikes. Earlier, the ministry reported carrying out overnight strikes on July 24 against ports in Odesa, Izmail, and Mykolaiv, claiming to have hit a "dry cargo ship that delivered military cargo" in the latter.

Sources differ: according to the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office and Governor Filashkin, at least five people were killed and about 10 wounded in Sloviansk. According to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, 10 were killed and about 100 wounded. Ukrainian authorities initially did not report casualties from the strike on the Kyiv region; President Zelensky later reported six dead.