Ukraine has reported that at least 18 civilians were killed in strikes over the weekend, with four of those fatalities occurring in a Russian town under Ukrainian control. The attacks targeted cities near and far from the front lines, resulting in casualties among both Ukrainian and Russian civilians.
According to local emergency services, two airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 14 people in the Ukrainian city of Poltava, including two children. A second strike hit a boarding school in Sudzha, a town in western Russia occupied by Ukraine, killing four people.
The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine for the deadly strike in Sudzha but did not comment on the attack on Poltava. The situation remains unclear, with neither side’s claims being independently verified.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his outrage over the attacks, emphasizing that those killed were Russia’s own civilians. The strikes underscored the brutal toll of the war on civilians, who have faced frequent attacks in cities like Poltava and Lviv.
The United Nations reported a sharp increase in casualties last year due to the use of long-range drones, missiles, and glide bombs capable of reaching distant targets. Cities once considered relatively safe are now facing frequent attacks. In Kyiv, the once-rare buzz of Russian drones flying overhead now echoes regularly through the night.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/world/europe/ukraine-russia-civilians-killed.html