Russian military kill 78-year-old woman in drone strike in the Sumy Oblast
A Russian drone attack killed a 78-year-old woman in the Svesa hromadaі , Sumy Oblast, on the evening of July 19, 2025, according to the Sumy Oblast Military Administration.
The Russian military deployed four drones in the attack, authorities reported.
The strikes set residential buildings ablaze.
Two local residents also sought medical attention following a large-scale attack on the Shostka hromada.
By way of background, Russian troops launched two drone strikes on the Sumy hromada on July 18, injuring three local residents, according to Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy Oblast Military Administration.
Hryhorov reported that the first attack occurred around 1 p.m. and the second followed approximately an hour later. Russia targeted civilian infrastructure.
On July 7, Hryhorov reported that Russians killed two residents of the Khotin hromada in the Sumy Oblast.
Reports indicated that two men aged 60 and 48 sustained fatal shrapnel wounds as a result of a Russian strike UAV hitting the area.
Their bodies were found on 7 July at the scene of the attack.
ZMINA continues to report on ongoing international crimes in the Sumy Oblast.
Previously, ZMINA reported that in June 2025, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine recorded the highest number of civilian casualties and fatalities in Ukraine in the past three years of full-scale invasion, with 232 civilians killed and 1,343 injured.
On July 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address, announced that National Security and Defence Council Secretary (NSDC) Rustem Umierov had proposed a meeting with the Russian Federation next week. The President emphasized that Ukraine is ready for a meeting at the leadership level.
According to Zelesnkyy, the team is currently working on another POW exchange.
“NSDC Secretary Umierov also reported that he had proposed to the Russian side that the next meeting be held next week. The momentum of the negotiations must be increased. Everything must be done to achieve a ceasefire. And the Russian side must stop hiding from decisions. Exchange of prisoners. Return of children. Ending the killings. And a meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace, truly lasting peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,” the president stated.
On July 15, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, responded to US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to impose tough sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to reach a peace agreement within 50 days.
Medvedev dismissed Trump’s ultimatum as “theatrical.”
“The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care,” he wrote.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to strengthen support for Russia following Donald Trump’s warning to impose secondary sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners, according to a report by The Moscow Times citing the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
During a meeting in Beijing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Chinese leader stated that the two countries’ foreign ministries must “effectively implement the important agreements” he reached with President Vladimir Putin.
Xi also called for them to “strengthen mutual support and cooperation on multilateral platforms, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”
He emphasized the need to protect the security and development interests of both nations.
