The Independent View | Russia is increasing its attacks on Ukrainian civilians – the West must respond
Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians are nothing new. But they are getting more sophisticated and threaten to tip the war in Russia’s favour for almost the first time. The aim is to break, at long last, the remarkable resilience and spirit of the Ukrainian people. The Kremlin hopes that, if it succeeds in that, then not only will Russia have secured an imperial expansion; but the West will have lost a strategic ally which is even more valuable than it was when the conflict began.
Tens of thousands of Russian ballistic missiles have been lobbed at apartment blocks and other targets in Ukraine more or less indiscriminately for six years. These are mighty weapons, intended to fight Nato’s armies in a third world war, not to pummel undefended Ukrainian towns. They, and the newer Russian-Iranian drones, have accounted for the great majority of the 16,874 Ukrainian civilians killed (according to the United Nations’ figures) since President Putin’s “special military operation” began in February 2022. That death toll includes 820 children, with 51,173 injured, of which 3,126 are children. The kidnapping and torture of captured Ukrainians adds to the litany of Russian war crimes.
Alex Croft17 August 2026 10:05
Nato jet downs drone in Romanian airspace
Romania’s ministry of national defence said on Sunday that a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace.
The drone’s entry into the Nato member’s airspace was detected by surveillance systems at 4.44am, the ministry said, about 24km (14.9 miles) north of the eastern city of Galati near the border with neighboring Moldova. Moldova is a landlocked country between Ukraine and Romania.
A Spanish F-18 aircraft that was performing air policing duties “made radar contact with the target and received engagement approval,” the ministry said. “The drone was safely shot down by the F-18 aircraft at 05.01.”
The ministry later said that drone debris was also reported in the Black Sea around 10am on Sunday, about 1.5km (0.9 miles) from the coastal city of Constanta.
Officials did not specify the drone’s origin.
The incident comes weeks after Romanian pilots shot down three drones over three days as Russia intensified attacks against Ukraine near the border.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 09:41
Woman killed in Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Astrakhan region, says governor
We’ve heard from the local governor of Russia’s southern Atrakhan region, who said on Monday that a woman has been killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.
The attack hit an industrial facility, he added, without giving details.
We’ll bring you more details on the attack as they come in.
Alex Croft17 August 2026 09:21
Watch: Nine injured in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Odesa regionNine injured in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Odesa region
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 09:00
Seven killed in Russia as Ukraine launches one of its largest aerial attacks of the war
Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday, killing at least seven people in one of Kyiv’s largest aerial attacks of the war.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. Some 600 drones were detected headed toward the Russian capital, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, with a third of those destroyed over the Moscow region itself.
An 83-year-old man was killed after a Ukrainian drone hit a private home in the Moscow region, local governor Andrey Vorobyov said. A woman was killed in Belgorod after a civilian bus was struck, officials said.
He also confirmed that a Ukrainian attack had sparked a blaze at a Wildberries warehouse in the town of Podolsk.
A drone attack targeted three towns in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region, killing five people, local governor Yury Slyusar said.
The attack, with more than 150 drones, damaged several homes and a railway station and sparked a forest fire.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 08:40
Russian attack hits civilian vessel in Odesa overnight
An overnight Russian attack on the Ukrainian port city Odesa has damaged a Togo-flagged civilian vessel, officials said.
Regional governor Oleh Kiper said the attack took place in the early hours today.
At least four people were injured in the attack which started fires in the city, although those have now been reportedly been extinguished.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 08:32
Russia claims it has taken two more east Ukrainian villages
The Russian defence ministry has claimed its forces have taken the village of Pershomarivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, as well as Kudiivka in the northeastern Kharkiv region, state news agency TASS reported.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 08:12
Mapped: Ukrainian strikes on major Wildberries warehouses
Ukraine has struck seven of the 10 largest logistics centres belonging to Wildberries – Russia’s equivalent of Amazon – in just the last month and a half.
Kyiv says the warehouses are responsible for supplying the Russian military, including with drone components and navigation equipment.
The Institute for the Study of War, which has mapped the strikes below, notes that the campaign is designed to degrade Russia’s dual-use logistics network.
A map showing Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian Wildberries warehouses between 17 July to 16 August (X/ The Institute for the Study of War)
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 07:57
Ukraine’s Naftogaz says Russia attacked its facilities 13 times in past week
Russia attacked facilities of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz 13 times in various Ukrainian regions in the past week, the company said this morning.
The attacks focused on production infrastructure, Naftogaz said, adding that operations at some of the facilities have been halted as a result of the attacks, leading to a loss of production volumes.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 07:32
Ukraine says it targeted Russian airbase
Ukraine said yesterday that its forces struck Russia’s Savasleyka airbase, which houses MiG-31K fighter jets that Moscow uses to launch ballistic missiles against Kyiv.
Ukraine also carried out a missile strike against a key Russian space rocket centre in Samara city which it claimed deploys satellite communications systems for the battlefield.
The rocket centre has been instrumental in developing Soyuz-type launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2.1b three-stage carrier rocket, Kyiv claimed.
Ukrainian defence manufacturer Fire Point confirmed yesterday that Kyiv used FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles to strike the Progress Space Rocket Centre.
The attacks come amid Kyiv’s widely reported anti-ballistic missile interceptor shortage.
Arpan Rai17 August 2026 07:23