Ukraine and Russia trade fatal drone strikes as 153 drones rain down overnight
Illustration: Press Pass USARussia and Ukraine traded deadly drone strikes overnight into Sunday, October 25, killing at least one person on each side of the border, as Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 153 drones — including 92 jet-powered variants — at Ukrainian cities.
In Kharkiv, a Russian drone strike killed one person and wounded four in the city's Novobavarskyi district, Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency reported. Russian missiles also destroyed Kharkiv's last remaining Epicentr home-improvement store after staff and customers were evacuated, and a second strike hit emergency responders at the scene, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In Vinnytsia, a Russian drone struck a high-rise apartment building, injuring six people, Zelenskyy said. In the Dnipro region, strikes a day earlier had killed four people and injured 22, including an 11-year-old girl, he added.
On the Russian side, a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Belgorod killed one person and injured 10, the region's operational headquarters said, as cited by Russia's Sputnik news agency. Casualty claims from both sides in wartime reporting could not be independently verified.
Zelenskyy said Russia had launched about 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 missiles and nearly 2,300 attack drones in the past week alone, and urged partners to unblock deliveries of Patriot interceptors already approved by European countries ahead of winter.
Sources: Ukrinform (Oct 25, 2026); Qatar News Agency (Oct 25, 2026); Ukrainian Air Force via Kyiv Independent (Oct 25, 2026); statement by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Oct 25, 2026); Belgorod regional headquarters via Sputnik (Oct 25, 2026).
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