Russian drone strike on Ukraine's Sumy Oblast injures 12, including children
Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated with new details as they emerge.
A Russian drone strike on the northeastern city of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast left 12 people injured, including two children, local authorities reported on Aug. 20.
The attack was part of a large-scale overnight drone barrage targeting civilian infrastructure, Ukraine's national police reported. Residential homes, apartment blocks, and other buildings sustained significant damage.
Emergency services remain on the scene, providing medical assistance to the injured persons and assessing the full extent of the damage.
Despite ongoing international efforts to broker peace — including potential bilateral talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin — Russian forces continue to launch regular attacks against civilian targets.
Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia, has been frequently targeted since the start of the full-scale invasion, and saw intensified hostilities in June when Russia opened a new front in the region.
The region has also featured in recent discussions about "land swaps" between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow purportedly proposed to withdraw troops from Sumy and neighboring Kharkiv Oblast in exchange for full control of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions—an offer reportedly discussed by Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump during a high-level meeting in Alaska.
