Children killed and others wounded as Russian strikes hit Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions
Russian military strikes overnight and on the morning of August 4, 2026, killed and wounded civilians across the Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk and Kherson Regions (Oblasts), according to regional military administrations, the State Emergency Service and the National Police.
Two children and an elderly woman were killed in a Russian strike on the Sumy Oblast, while four others suffered acute stress reactions. Russian forces struck the regional capital with aerial bombs.
In the Odesa Oblast, two people were wounded in the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.
Russian attacks on Donetsk and Kherson Oblasts over the past day and on the morning of 4 August killed four people and injured 28, the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration and Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported.
Two people were killed in Druzhkivka and Vysokoivanivka in Donetsk Oblast.
Eight people were injured: three in Druzhkivka, two in Sloviansk, one in Vysokoivanivka, one in Kramatorsk and one in Bilenke.
Two people were killed, and 18 were injured in Kherson Oblast over the past day. In this city, a Russian drone strike wounded a civilian at a market. The drone operator saw the target before the strike.
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Additionally, a Russian drone also attacked one of the hospitals in the city of Kherson on the morning of 4 August. A 52-year-old nurse suffered blast injuries and a concussion.
In addition, a 58-year-old man sought medical treatment after coming under a drone attack in central Kherson. He was initially diagnosed with blast injuries.
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ZMINA also reported that Russian military strikes on August 2 killed seven civilians and wounded at least 67 others across the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, as well as the Sumy Oblast.
Previously, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) on 14 July stated in its monthly report that at least 293 civilians were killed in Russian strikes in June, 2026. It is the highest monthly death toll since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN human rights experts have said.
Infographics by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine“The figures show an alarming escalatory trend with mounting civilian toll, driven by the intensifying use of powerful weapons that are particularly deadly when used in densely populated urban areas,” said Danielle Bell, who heads HRMMU. “This trend should serve as a warning that the risks facing civilians are not only persisting but growing in both scale and complexity.”
HRMMU also reported that a total of 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 were injured over the first six months of this year, up 37% from the same period in 2025 and up 114% compared with the first half of 2024.
Infographics by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in UkraineSince 24 February 2022, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has verified that at least 16,431 civilians have been killed, including 803 children, and 48,613 civilians have been injured, including 2,960 children.
Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
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