Russia launches 58 drones at Ukraine; 46 intercepted
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 58 drones on the evening of July 20 and overnight into July 21, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 46 of them, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. There are reports of casualties in Sumy Oblast, Chernihiv, and Kherson.
Officials said eight drones hit targets at seven locations.
In Sumy Oblast, a jet-powered drone struck a nine-story residential building, causing a fire on the first floor. Six people were injured, including four children.
On the evening of July 20, Russian forces also struck a shopping center in Sumy. Local media reported that it was an Epicentr store. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that Russia struck the area again just as firefighters began to put out the blaze. A service vehicle was destroyed, and another was damaged.
In Chernihiv, a drone hit an administrative building, causing a fire, regional military administration head Dmytro Bryzhynskyi said. One person was injured and was diagnosed with blast trauma, acoustic barotrauma, and an acute stress reaction.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a strike drone hit the city’s Kyivskyi district. In addition, an Italmas drone hit a private house in the Nemyshlianskyi district, setting it on fire. Five people were injured there, including a 12-year-old girl.
In Kherson, a 55-year-old man sought medical help in the morning after a Russian drone attack in the Dniprovskyi district at about 8:15 a.m. He was diagnosed with blast injuries, a closed head injury, a concussion, and shrapnel wounds to his limbs.