Russian drones kill mother and son as civilian casualties surge in Ukraine

Russian jet-powered drones struck a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, officials reported. This attack occurred just one day after the United Nations announced that July marked the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the initial weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

The UN monitoring mission in Kyiv stated that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded in July. This represents a 70% increase compared to July of the previous year and a 30% rise from June of this year. Danielle Bell, head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Kyiv, noted, "Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July. The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest we documented in a single month since March 2022."

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Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July. The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest we documented in a single month since March 2022.

The strike in the Sumy region also injured four others, including the deceased boy's father and grandmother, who sustained severe burns and were hospitalized. Meanwhile, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated Moscow's intention to escalate aerial attacks. "We will use much harsher methods to destroy everything that feeds Kyiv's war machine from the West," Lavrov stated in an interview, referring to Western military aid to Ukraine.

In a separate incident in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb destroyed six floors of a 10-story apartment building, killing one person and injuring 16 others, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy also reported that Russia is deploying approximately 220 glide bombs daily against settlements near the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine, describing how Russian forces use these heavy bombs, artillery, and missiles to devastate communities.

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We will use much harsher methods to destroy everything that feeds Kyiv's war machine from the West.