Russian attacks kill 9, injure 43 across Ukraine over past day, as jet-powered drone hits shopping center in Odesa Oblast

Russian attacks killed at least 9 people and injured at least 43 across Ukraine over the past day, as its forces attacked a shopping center in southern Odesa Oblast, local authorities said on Aug. 16-17.

Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said on Aug. 16 that Russian forces attacked a post office in a shopping center on the outskirts of Odesa with a jet-powered drone.

As a result of the attack, seven people were injured, including a couple and their 8-year-old son, who were inside the shopping center at the moment of the strike.

In a separate overnight attack, Russia struck port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, Kiper said on Aug. 17. A civilian vessel flying the flag of the Togolese Republic was damaged, and four people were injured in the strike.

Alongside the attacks on Odesa Oblast, Russian forces launched 128 drones across Ukraine overnight on Aug. 17, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses downed 106 drones over the north, south, and east of the country. Some drones made it through the air defense and struck 14 locations, and the debris of downed drones was found at two locations, the report read.

On the evening of Aug. 16 and into the morning of Aug. 17, the Air Force reported that Russian missiles were launched toward Kharkiv Oblast and the city of Zaporizhzhia, but did not specify the types of weapons, the results of air-defense efforts, or include the attack in its morning summary.

In eastern Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed and 11 injured in a Russian attack on Kramatorsk, and six others were injured by Russian strikes elsewhere in the region over the past day, governor Vadym Filashkin said.

In southern Kherson Oblast, two men, aged 58 and 66, were killed by a Russian FPV drone attack on Novokairy village on the morning of Aug. 17, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Russian attacks elsewhere in the region injured six people, he added.

In southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, two people were killed, and three were injured by Russian guided aerial bombs in the Zaporizhzhia district, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on Aug. 17. Russian forces launched 20 guided aerial bombs (KABs), deployed 846 drones, and carried out 350 artillery strikes against the region, according to the governor.

In northeastern Sumy Oblast, a 75-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman were killed and three others injured in Russian attacks over the past day, regional authorities said.

Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed one person and injured six people over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported, according to the reports published on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17.

In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, over the past day, the city of Kharkiv and nine other settlements in the region came under Russian attacks, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. As a result of the attack on the city of Izium, three people were injured.

July of 2026 saw the most civilians killed or injured in Ukraine since March 2022, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

At least 437 civilians in Ukraine were killed and 2,610 injured in July alone, the monitoring group said on Aug. 13. This represents a 30% increase from June, which previously held the record for the deadliest month since April 2022.

Casualties in July 2026 increased by 70% compared with July 2025. Child casualties also rose to their highest level since April 2022, with 17 children killed and 166 injured.