Ukrainian officials reported on August 6 that overnight Russian strikes in the country’s eastern and northern regions killed at least six people and injured dozens more. On the same day, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced its air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed 605 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, three people were killed in the town of Balakliya following strikes on residential homes, according to statements from local authorities. Vitalii Karabanov, the head of the city’s military administration, confirmed the victims were two women and a man. Emergency services were dispatched to the sites to manage fires and clear debris.
In the northern Sumy region, separate Russian attacks killed three additional people and wounded at least 19 others, according to Ukrainian police. Officials stated that 12 of the injuries occurred in the city of Sumy after an attack involving guided aerial bombs.
Ukrainian regional authorities reported several other incidents. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were wounded in a Russian attack, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional military administration. In the southern Kherson region, a drone attack on a van wounded six people, the regional administration said in a statement on Telegram.
In the Black Sea port of Odesa, a Russian attack damaged a foreign-flagged vessel loaded with wheat, said Oleh Kiper, the regional governor. One crew member was killed in the incident, which caused a fire aboard the ship. Ukraine’s seaport administration identified the vessel as the Mera Queen, which sails under the flag of Guinea-Bissau.
Concurrently, Russia’s Ministry of Defence issued a statement claiming its forces had neutralized a large-scale drone attack. “During the night … air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 605 Ukrainian aerial drones,” the ministry said. Following the reported drone activity, local authorities in Russia stated that a logistics center for the e-commerce company Wildberries sustained minor damage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later announced that the country’s military had conducted strikes on two oil refineries located deep inside Russia. He identified the targets as the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in the republic of Bashkortostan and the Slavnet-Yanos refinery in the Yaroslavl region. Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the claim.
Ukrainian officials have previously alleged that the online retailer Wildberries supplies dual-use items to the Russian military.
