Russian forces target multiple Ukrainian cities in overnight assault, woman killed in Odesa

The Russian military was targeting the Shostka hromadaі in the Sumy Oblast since the night of July 18-19, 2025, using guided aerial bombs and drones, according to the Sumy Oblast Military Administration and Kordon Media, a local news outlet in Sumy Oblast.

Local reports show that Russian forces bombarded Shostka with drones for four hours overnight.

Later that morning, after 10:00 am, Russian forces struck the Shostka hromada again, this time with six guided aerial bombs.

Ukrainian authorities reported a “targeted hit”, though they did not disclose the specific location.

Officials recorded no wounded or dead in either attack.

In Odesa, Russians killed one person this night in their attack on the city.

The State Emergency Service (SES) reported that a fire had broken out from the fifth to the eighth floors of a nine-story residential building as a result of the attack.

“Five people were rescued from the burning apartments, but one rescued woman sadly died,” the statement of the SES reads.

Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, reported that Russians launched their most intense attack on Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast this night, striking the city with drones and missiles.

“A hellish night and morning for Pavlohrad. The most intense attack on the city. Explosion after explosion. Russian terrorists targeted it with missiles and drones,” he stated.

Aftermath of Russian shellings of Pavlohrad city

According to him, Russia’s large-scale attack on Pavlohrad killed a 68-year-old man, according to the latest information. The strikes injured another man, aged 24, who will receive outpatient treatment.

Lysak said the attack damaged a fire station, an industrial facility, and a five-story residential building. The strikes also sparked fires.

Officials are still confirming details about the attack on Pavlohrad.

According to the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, Russian attacks killed five people and injured three in the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk Oblast on July 18.

In addition, Russian forces struck nine people across the oblast on July 18, including three in the settlement of Rodynske, two in the city of Druzhkivka, and one in the town of Lyman.

On the morning of July 18, Russian forces used a drone to attack a volunteer vehicle evacuating civilians from Rodynske and dropped a FAB-250 aerial bomb on Kostiantynivka.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that overnight on July 19, Russians attacked the country with 379 aerial weapons, of which Ukrainian forces shot down 208, while another 136 were classified as locationally lost.

Russia launched the attack using 344 drones, 12 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, 8 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles.

According to the Air Force, Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 208 weapons: 185 Shahed-type strike drones, 7 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, 7 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 9 Kh-101 cruise missiles.

Ukrainian forces recorded hits from 5 missiles and 30 strike drones across 12 locations, as well as debris from downed weapons falling across 7 locations.

Earlier, BBC’s Russia editor Vitaly Shevchenko pointed out that Russia has continued to make billions from fossil fuel exports to the West, data shows, helping to finance its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Since the start of that invasion in February 2022, Russia has made more than three times as much money by exporting hydrocarbons as Ukraine has received in aid allocated by its allies.

Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia, by July 19, Russia had made more than €912bn in revenue from fossil fuel exports since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Hungary and Slovakia also fund Russia’s war, receiving Russian pipeline gas via Türkiye.

Despite Western efforts, Russia’s fossil fuel revenues in 2024 fell by only 5% compared to 2023, along with a similar 6% drop in export volumes, according to CREA. Last year also saw a 6% increase in Russian revenue from crude oil exports, and a 9% year-on-year increase in revenue from pipeline gas.

Russian estimates say gas exports to Europe rose by up to 20% in 2024, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reaching record levels. Currently, half of Russia’s LNG exports go to the EU, CREA says.

Mai Rosner, a senior campaigner from the pressure group Global Witness, says many Western policymakers fear that cutting imports of Russian fuels will lead to higher energy prices.

“There’s no real desire in many governments to actually limit Russia’s ability to produce and sell oil. There is way too much fear about what that would mean for global energy markets. There’s a line drawn under where energy markets would be too undermined or too thrown off kilter,” she told the BBC.

In addition to direct sales, some of the oil exported by Russia ends up in the West after being processed into fuel products in third countries via what is known as “the refining loophole”. Sometimes it gets diluted with crude from other countries, too.

CREA says it has identified three “laundromat refineries” in Türkiye and three in India, processing Russian crude and selling the resulting fuel to other countries. It says they have used €6.1bn worth of Russian crude to make products, while evading sanctions.

“[These countries] know that sanctioning countries are willing to accept this. This is a loophole. It’s entirely legal. Everyone’s aware of it, but nobody is doing much to actually tackle it in a big way,” says Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA.

Campaigners and experts argue that Western governments have the tools and means available to stem the flow of oil and gas revenue into the Kremlin’s coffers.