Escalating Attacks on Both Sides of the Border
Overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on targets inside Russia, including an oil refinery and a warehouse belonging to the retail giant Ozon, killed at least six people and injured several more, according to Russian governors and the acting regional head. The attacks, described by the officials on social media, hit the Samara region's industrial facilities and its Chapayevsk logistics centre, which Ozon said would be halted for the time being.
On Monday, Ukrainian missiles killed six people and wounded four others, including a child, in Russia's Belgorod region, depth of the border, acting governor Alexander Shuvaev said on the state-backed platform, MAX. He said the attack burned a structure and damaged a vehicle in Koloskovo, about 15 kilometres from the Ukraine border.
These attacks came as the three-year war has reached a near standstill, with the front line barely moving and peace talks frozen. The conflict has instead shifted to strikes targeting infrastructure on both sides, with the civilian death toll reaching its highest level. The Independent reported that at least two people were in Kyiv from a ballistic missile strike on a railway line, and one more in Zaporizhzhia from a drone strike, while regional officials in Russia reported two killed in Belgorod and 13 wounded, and four wounded in Bryansk.
The tolls followed separate attacks on both sides over the previous two days that killed 19 people, according to reports carried by France 24 and the Canberra Times.
As the strikes continued, attention also remained on the aftermath of Friday's attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's hometown, where a shopping centre was hit. The attack, which happened in waves of Russian drones, killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 130. Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said 22 children were among the wounded, and nine people, including two children, were missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble. Zelensky, who called the attack an "act of barbarism," said the event "We will definitely respond," and described second drone that hit the site just after half an hour, as an apparent attempt to strike emergency services.
Economic targets on both sides
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said the strikes on warehouses, oil refineries and other infrastructure aim to undermine Russia's war economy. Ukraine had been targeting the warehouses of the retailer Wildberries, claiming it supplies components for Russian drones, and following that, the Ozon attack was the first on that company.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in comments carried by The Canberra Times and the South China, said Ukraine opened a "Pandora's box" with its drone strikes, and Russia will now hit back at Ukraine's "most sensitive economic sectors." He also rejected the idea that the strikes would cause global food shortages, claiming Russia could replace Ukrainian exports.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it had downed 457 Ukrainian drones overnight, a figure it claimed but which has not been independently confirmed. The weather in Moscow reported fires and police arresting citizens complaining of fuel shortages, with fuel purchase limits introduced in the capital.
The fighting has shifted to deep strikes by both sides of the front line, hitting oil refineries, warehouses and port facilities. Russia said it had struck a patrol boat and fuel storage tanks in Odesa, damaging a civilian Togo-flagged vessel, and in the Izmail district, the Ukrainian authorities said the port infrastructure had been hit. The Russian ministry said it hit "military targets" including a fuelling terminal, hangars, and storage for among other things, in a description reported by France 24.
French support and defence gaps
Facing the ongoing attacks, Zelensky has again called on Western allies to supply air defence systems. He said in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron that the response from France was promised to accelerate delivery of French equipment, including the Patriot and ballistic missile interceptors, and France agreed to intercede with allies that hold stocks of the US-made missiles.
A new SAMP/T-NG missile defence system is awaited in Ukraine. Experts, quoted in the Canberra Times, say it should be able to shoot down ballistic missiles but it is still untested in combat.
Zelensky said in a post that the lack of air defence is "means casualties that could have been prevented."
Civilian Toll and Reporting
The July month saw 437 civilians killed in Ukraine, the highest monthly toll since May 2022, according to a UN count reported by France. On the Russian side, authorities reported 79 civilians killed in the same period. The figures, highlighted across the reports, underline the continuing human cost of the border fighting that has continued.
On Saturday's reports of Russian attacks across the country and occupied Ukraine, The Independent reported that at least 10 people killed in different regions, while the other two reports at least eight. The details of the attacks have been attributed to official statements, but the verification of some details continues, including the Russian Ministry downing of 457 drones.
The conflict and its effects on civilians have been marked by the mutual escalation since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The war, which entered its fourth year, has failed to reach a negotiated end, and the last grain deal that allowed for food exports collapsed in 2023.
The attacks and their consequences have drawn again a renewed appeal from Zelensky and renewed air defence.
Perspectives
Ukrainian authorities: The Slovakian government's immediate focus is to protect civilians and infrastructure, and it frames Russian attacks on civilian sites, such as the shopping centre, as deliberate acts of barbarism. It continues to call for more advanced air defence systems to stop ballistic missiles and drones.
Russian authorities: The Russian government and its regional officials describe the Ukrainian attacks as terrorism against the residents, while President Putin presents them as a response to Ukrainian military strikes on Russian economic projects. It reiterates its willingness to talk, but the negotiating parameters are "realities on the ground," not Kyiv's proposals.