Russian drone strikes residential building in central Chernihiv, injuring at least 18, including 2 children, on Ukraine's Independence Day
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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
A Russian drone struck an apartment building in central Chernihiv on Aug. 24, injuring at least 18 people, including two children, and sparking a fire, local authorities said.
The Chernihiv City Council said Russian forces launched three waves of attacks on the city, with a drone striking a residential building during the final wave around noon local time.
"Cynical strike by Russian terrorists on a residential building in Chernihiv. Right in the middle of the day — on Independence Day," Chernihiv Oblast Governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
A fire broke out on the ground floor of a nine-story residential building, Ukraine's Emergency Service said.
Rescuers were working to extinguish the fire at the site of the strike, while medical teams were providing assistance to the injured, according to Chaus.
Authorities said the drone hit the central part of the city, while the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
The strike came as Ukraine marked the 35th anniversary of its independence on Aug. 24.
Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least eight people and injured at least 43 over the previous day, according to local authorities, while Russia launched missiles and 143 drones overnight.
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.
Ukrainian civilian casualties in July 2026 were 70% higher than July the previous year, while casualties among children also rose to their highest level since April 2022, with 17 children killed and 166 injured.
