Ukraine and Russia exchange deadly strikes, with at least one child
killed
[June 23, 2026]
By VOLODYMR YURCHUK
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone strike on the city of Sumy in
northeastern Ukraine killed three members of the same family, including
a 13-year-old boy, while a Ukrainian strike on a Russian industrial
plant killed five people, officials said Monday.
Russia has pounded civilian areas of Ukraine with drones and missiles
since its all-out invasion more than four years ago. Ukraine
increasingly has struck back against oil facilities and military
factories deep inside Russia.
A United Nations tally says more than 16,000 civilians have died in the
war. U.S.-led peace efforts have failed to stop the fighting.
The Sumy attack hit a home and killed a 36-year-old man, his son and the
73-year-old mother of his partner, according to Oleh Hryhorov, the head
of the regional military administration. The man’s partner and
10-year-old son were wounded, he said.
“An ordinary home — not a military target whatsoever," Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
The Ukrainian missile attack on the industrial plant in Voronezh in
southwestern Russia killed five people and injured dozens, Gov.
Alexander Gusev said. He did not name the plant.
Ukraine’s General Staff said it hit a Voronezh factory that produces
electronic parts for Russian missile and air defense systems.
Ukraine's monthly civilian casualties are highest in 4 years
The number of civilian casualties in Russian attacks has jumped
recently, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in
Ukraine, as Moscow’s forces struggle to gain momentum on the
battlefield.
At least 274 civilians were killed and 1,763 injured in Ukraine in May,
the highest monthly total of civilian casualties since April 2022, the
mission said earlier this month. Most casualties are in cities far from
the front line, it said.
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A mother pushes a stroller past a damaged building covered with
street artist paintings and a big city marketplace that was
destroyed recently by Russian missiles in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday,
June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A Russian nighttime drone strike killed a woman and wounded three
people, including an 11-year-old boy, in the southeastern Ukrainian
city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.
Russia launched 88 long-range attack drones and one ballistic
missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defenses
shooting down or jamming 79 of the drones.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 301
Ukrainian drones during the night over multiple Russian regions, the
Crimea peninsula, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 84 Ukrainian drones targeting the
Russian capital were shot down. He didn’t mention any damage, but
all four Moscow airports temporarily halted flights.
The success of Ukraine’s long-range campaign against oil facilities,
military transport and infrastructure has prompted Russian-held
Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales.
And all summer camps in illegally annexed Crimea on Monday stopped
accepting children and new bookings until Sept. 1 for security
reasons, said the Russian-installed governor of the occupied
peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov.
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