Russian forces launched overnight strikes on multiple Ukrainian cities on July 26, killing one person in Kharkiv and injuring at least nine in Kyiv and Kharkiv, local officials reported.
In Kyiv, debris fell on an 18-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, sparking a fire on the seventh and eighth floors, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Damage was also reported in the Solomianskyi and Desnianskyi districts, where a non-residential building and cars caught fire. Three people were injured, one hospitalized and two treated on site.
In Kharkiv, a drone strike on the Slobidskyi district killed one person, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. At least six others were wounded, including two children.
Kryvyi Rih also came under attack. A drone strike caused a fire at the Epicenter hardware hypermarket, the only such store in the city, Ukrainian authorities and local media reported.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russian forces used an Kh-59/69 guided missile, seven Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, and more than 100 drones. The Insider reported that 136 drones were launched in total; Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and 104 drones. Two ballistic missiles and 27 strike drones hit 18 locations, with debris falling in seven more. In Kyiv's Desnianskyi district, a warehouse, ten cars, and a truck burned; in Shevchenkivskyi, an evacuated four-story building caught fire.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the strikes in Kyiv targeted the Smart Intelligent Systems enterprise, which it claimed produces drones, as well as a drone assembly and storage site in the city's southwest. There was no independent confirmation of these claims. The Insider noted that the drone models named by the ministry — AQ-400 Scythe, AQ-100 Bayonet, and RQ-100 Scout — are manufactured by the company Terminal Autonomy.
The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed that fuel storage tanks for the Ukrainian military were hit at the port of Chornomorsk. The Odesa regional administration's statement did not mention the port or fuel tanks. The Insider analyzed NASA FIRMS satellite data and found no thermal anomalies near the port. There was no independent confirmation of a strike on the port.
Sources differed on some details: The Insider counted 136 drones launched, while Ukraine's Air Force said "more than 100"; The Insider reported nine wounded in Kharkiv (including a 10-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl), while Mayor Terekhov said six (including two children); Russia's Defense Ministry claimed hits on Smart Intelligent Systems and the port of Chornomorsk, but no independent confirmation of these versions exists.