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Russian drone strike on police headquarters in Zhytomyr kills 2, injures at least 20

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Russian drone strike on police headquarters in Zhytomyr kills 2, injures at least 20
The building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Oblast following a Russian Banderol drone strike on Aug. 19, 2026. (National Police of Ukraine/Telegram)

Russian forces struck the regional headquarters of Ukraine's National Police in Zhytomyr with Banderol drones on Aug. 19, killing two police officers and injuring at least 20 people, according to First Deputy Head of the National Police Maksym Tsutskiridze.

"Zhytomyr came under a cynical attack by Russian forces — the enemy struck with Banderol-type drones," Tsutskiridze said.

The attack hit the building of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zhytomyr Oblast, causing a fire on the roof and fourth floor, according to Tsutskiridze.

Police officers, first responders, and other emergency services were working at the scene, assisting those injured and documenting the consequences of the attack.

Earlier, Governor Vitalii Bunechko said Russian forces had attacked Zhytomyr with jet-powered drones and confirmed a hit on the regional police headquarters.

The strike comes just over a week after Russia attacked Zhytomyr and the surrounding region with jet-powered drones overnight on Aug. 9. That attack injured three people and damaged civilian infrastructure, a private enterprise, and a house.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 17 people and injured at least 54 over the past day, according to local authorities. Russia also launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 65 drones and other aerial targets overnight on Aug. 19, according to Ukraine's Air Force.  

Russia has increasingly deployed jet-powered weapons alongside conventional Shahed-type drones in attacks on Ukraine. The S8000 Banderol loitering munition travels significantly faster than propeller-driven Shaheds and further strains Ukrainian air defenses.

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Polina Moroziuk

Polina Moroziuk is a junior reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She holds an MSc in Human Rights and Politics from the London School of Economics and a BSc from the University of Amsterdam. Before joining the newsroom, she worked in human rights advocacy and as a project assistant at a research and consultancy organisation, supporting projects for international organisations including UNICEF and War Child, with a focus on Ukraine and the Middle East.

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