Nighttime shelling by Russian forces: seven killed in Kharkiv, including two children (updating)

Russian military killed at least seven civilians and injured 18 others in Kharkiv on August 17, 2025, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS). 

“Another body has just been found under the rubble of a building, killed at dawn by an enemy drone. This brings the death toll to four, including one child,” Terekhov stated.

Syniehubov said a 16-year-old boy was among the dead.

“Five people are missing as a result of the enemy attack on Kharkiv’s Industrialnyi District. Early reports indicate that they may be trapped under the rubble,” Syniehubov reported.

August 18 has been declared a day of mourning in Kharkiv. 

Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration and State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa Oblast, reported that Russians attacked with drones the Odesa Oblast, causing a large-scale fire at a fuel and energy infrastructure facility of the Azerbaijani state company “SOCAR”. 

According to the DSNS, rescue workers have also dealt with the consequences of combined Russian strikes on the city of Sumy and the Shostka hromada. Buildings belonging to one of the city’s higher education institutions were damaged. A large-scale fire broke out, forcing rescuers to temporarily suspend their work due to the threat of repeated strikes. All sources of the fire have now been extinguished.

A Russian strike hit a residential sector in the Shostka hromada. The resulting fire engulfed homes and farm buildings, but it was also extinguished. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties in the attacks.

Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russians launched four Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 140 Shahed-type attack drones against Ukraine since Saturday evening. Ukrainian forces destroyed 88 drones, but Russian strikes hit 25 locations.

“As of 9 a.m., air defense forces shot down or jammed 88 enemy Shahed-type UAVs and various types of decoy drones in Ukraine’s north, south, east, and center. Enemy missiles and attack UAVs hit 25 locations in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Kyiv Oblasts,” the statement reads.

Russian propaganda published a video on August 18, a few days after the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, how a personnel carrier goes on the assault with Russian and U.S. flags in the area of Mala Tokmachka in the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region

Russian forces launched the Iskander missiles from areas near the Russian cities of Taganrog, Millerovo, and Kursk, and the UAVs from the directions of Kursk, Oryol, Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, as well as from Cape Chauda in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups repelled the air attack.

The Russian Federation uses temporarily occupied Crimea as a military foothold for its military aggression from the south of Ukraine, shelling Ukrainian cities from the peninsula. Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated the importance of de-occupying the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine urges the international community to unite to restore global security under the UN Charter and strengthen sanctions against Russia to enforce this country’s compliance with international law. Following Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, Ukraine has pursued the liberation of its territories within its internationally recognized 1991 borders while developing comprehensive reintegration strategies and policies for all liberated areas.

European Union member states are working on new sanctions against Russia and additional support for the Ukrainian military, even as they lend their support to peace negotiations led by the United States.