Overnight, the Russian army launched 236 drones into Ukraine: there are fatalities, including a teenager

Date: 19 April 2026
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On the night of April 19, 2026, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 236 attack drones, resulting in the death of two people, including a 16-year-old teenager in Chernihiv. Several more people sustained injuries, accroding to the the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Emergency Service (SES).

Two firefighters in protective gear work to extinguish a fire in the skeletal remains of a brick building in Chernihiv Oblast. One firefighter aims a high-pressure hose at charred debris and fallen roof beams, while the other stands nearby holding the yellow supply line. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) logo is in the top-left, and the National Police of Ukraine logo is in the bottom-right.

According to their data, about 150 drones were of the Shahed type. Air defense forces shot down a total of 203 aerial targets. At the same time, 32 drones were recorded hitting 18 locations, while debris fell in another 8 locations.

In Chernihiv, residential buildings and an educational institution came under attack. During the clearing of rubble, rescuers discovered the body of a 16-year-old boy. Another four people sustained injuries. All fires that broke out as a result of the attack were extinguished.

Three rescue workers from the State Emergency Service in Kherson Oblast, wearing protective gear and helmets, use hydraulic tools to extricate a person from a white van that has flipped onto its side. One rescuer works from the top of the mangled cabin while two others assist from the ground near a pile of shattered glass, with the DSNS logo in the top-left corner.

In Kherson in the morning, a Russian drone hit a car in one of the city’s districts. The driver died, and one civilian sustained injuries. Rescuers extricated the body of the deceased.

‘According to the investigation data, on April 19, 2026, at around 07:00 a.m., the Russian military carried out a drone attack on a civilian car in Kherson. As a result of the strike, a 56-year-old man died, and another victim, a 41-year-old man, sustained injuries. Both were in the car,’ the statement by the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office reads. 

You may also want to read: The Human safari: How Russia weaponized precision against Ukrainian civilians

Law enforcement officers have initiated a pre-trial investigation into the fact of committing a war crime that led to the death of a person under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

To provide background, on the night of April 17, as a result of Russian attacks on Ukraine, four people sustained injuries – two in Kramatorsk, one person in Zaporizhzhia, and another in the Odesa region.

On April 17, the U.S. lifted sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products transported by sea for 30 days, contrary to previous public assurances that the relevant licenses would not be renewed.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S., Olha Stefanishyna, called on the United States administration to restore sanctions on Russian oil exports.

Due to the weakening of US sanctions on Russian oil, Moscow may earn about $10 billion, which will go toward continuing the war against Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said.

According to the Ukrainian President, there are currently over 110 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet at sea, carrying more than 12 million tons of Russian oil. It is these volumes, as Zelenskyy emphasized, that Russia can again sell without consequences thanks to the weakening of sanctions.

“Every dollar for oil from Russia is money for war,” the President stated. He added that this resource is directly converted into new strikes against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Russian tankers should be stopped, rather than allowed to deliver oil to ports.

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