At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region, triggering powerful secondary explosions President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, vowing to punish suspected negligence in the second such incident in two months.
A missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed two people and injured 16 others on Sunday evening, according to acting regional governor Alexander Shuvayev.
Shuvayev said the attack hit a commercial facility, triggering fires at seven warehouses across the site. Belgorod, which lies near the border with Ukraine, has frequently come under attack during the war. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the reported strike.
The death toll from Friday's strike on an ammunition warehouse in the village of Myla, west of Kyiv, has risen to 38, with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Emergency crews continued to tackle fires and clear explosives at the site as investigations into the incident went on. The strike triggered a series of massive explosions that damaged nearby homes and buildings, while local officials said at least 52 people were injured.
NATO says it is closely watching what it describes as an increase in Russian hybrid activity across Europe, but does not currently assess that there is an immediate threat to alliance territory.
The comments follow a series of warnings from Western officials. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia could not be ruled out from staging a provocation against a NATO member, while Germany is preparing to announce the findings of an investigation into an attempted drone incident at Leipzig/Halle airport.
Reuters has also reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe discussed the possibility of Russian action against a NATO country during a recent visit to Moscow. Russia rejects Western allegations of involvement in sabotage or destabilisation efforts in Europe.
Early voting for Russia’s September State Duma elections began on Sunday in hard-to-reach and remote areas, according to the Central Election Commission.
The measure allows groups including military personnel, reindeer herders, remote workers and crews of vessels at sea to vote ahead of the main polling period.
Early voting will be available in selected areas between 30 August and 17 September, with the main election taking place from 18 to 20 September.
Ukraine wants to bring forward part of a European Union loan earmarked for next year to help cover a $27 billion budget deficit this year, defence minister Yevhenii Khmara said.
In comments to reporters released on Sunday, he added that Kyiv's war plan must be clear to Ukraine's partners as well as across the military chain of command.
Khmara also said Ukraine has tested four potential interceptors to shoot down the jet-powered drones Russia is increasingly firing at Ukraine.
Russian Ambassador-at-large Andrey Belousov accused the U.S. of viewing Europe as a potential nuclear battlefield. He said Washington’s calls for talks on Russia’s non-strategic nuclear weapons were aimed at shifting attention away from U.S. nuclear deployments in Europe and its missile programmes.
Belousov warned that expanding NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangements increased risks to Russia’s security. He said Moscow had reduced its tactical nuclear arsenal after the Cold War and expected similar steps from Washington. The diplomat criticised the collapse of arms-control agreements and U.S. plans to develop new missile-defence systems, saying they had worsened global security.
Belousov said Russia remains open to strategic dialogue with the U.S. but sees limited prospects for agreements. He added that Moscow would use political, diplomatic and military measures to maintain what it called a strategic balance.
One person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on a mine in the Russian-controlled part of Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the region's Russian-installed governor Leonid Pasechnik said.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said he does not believe Russia would risk attacking a NATO country, arguing that such a move would “make no sense.” He dismissed assessments that Russia could be ready to attack NATO by 2029, saying he sees no evidence to support them.
Stubb said NATO must remain prepared for all scenarios but stressed that its conventional, missile and nuclear capabilities make it too powerful to challenge directly. He added that intelligence information supports his assessment.
According to Stubb, Russia is suffering unsustainable losses in Ukraine, losing around 30,000–35,000 troops a month while recruiting about 27,000. He said this makes it difficult for Moscow to mobilise forces for a second front. Stubb also described Ukraine as Europe’s key security guarantee against Russia and urged continued European support for Kyiv.
Ukraine has struck an oil refinery in Russia's Leningrad region and a military air base in Krasnodar region overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
Russian forces have begun preparations to launch massive strikes against Ukraine's energy facilities in response to attacks on Russia's civilian infrastructure and energy sector, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
It added that Russian forces had continued overnight to carry out coordinated strikes against Ukraine's defence industry facilities.
A fire that broke out in an industrial area of the town of Kirishi as result of a drone attack on Russia's Leningrad region has been put out, governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Sunday.
"The consequences of the fire are currently being assessed," he said on Telegram.
Drozdenko added that several residential buildings had been damaged as a result of the attack and that 62 drones had been downed.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed negligence in the storage of explosives near populated areas and promised accountability. Dozens of people were injured and hundreds were evacuated from the village of Myla, where residential buildings and a facility for elderly and disabled people were badly damaged.
The depot reportedly contained artillery shells, mines, drones and other ammunition. The incident was the second strike-related ammunition detonation in the Kyiv region in two months, following a deadly explosion in Vyshneve. Criminal cases have been opened over alleged official negligence, while the Defence Ministry ordered a full review of weapons-storage sites.
Russian drone attacks continued against Kyiv and several other regions for a third consecutive day. A 14-year-old girl was killed in the Boryspil district, while a 2-year-old girl died in Kyiv after a drone was shot down. Ukrainian officials say the continuing strikes have damaged homes and major storage facilities and are increasingly disrupting daily life in the capital.
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