Russia launches drone attack on Ukraine, captures villages in Sumy region

Russia launched a wave of 60 drones at Ukraine overnight, wounding several people, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. 

The latest strike marks a notable drop in the scale of attacks following three consecutive nights of heavy aerial bombardment, including a record 355 drones launched on Sunday.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that the latest assault hit nine locations, injuring at least 10 people, including a 17-year-old boy. Serhiy Lysak, governor of the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, said air defense units were active throughout the night. The drones caused fires and destroyed homes, vehicles, and an agricultural facility in different districts.

In the southern city of Kherson, a 59-year-old man was injured in a morning drone strike, while a separate incident around 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) wounded six municipal workers. Kherson continues to experience frequent shelling and drone attacks by Russian forces.

Further north, in the city of Sumy, a drone strike ignited a fire at an industrial facility. Separate airstrikes damaged at least seven private homes and a two-storey building, though no casualties were reported.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, has not issued an official response to the overnight attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed calls for increased Western sanctions against Russia to pressure Moscow into negotiating peace.

Russian Troops Seize Villages in Ukraine’s Sumy Region

Meanwhile, Ukraine suffered a setback in its northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have captured four villages: Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka, according to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov. The area had previously served as a launch point for Ukrainian operations into Russia’s Kursk region last year, but Ukrainian forces have since been driven back.

Hryhorov stated that residents of the occupied villages had already been evacuated and that the Russian advance is part of an effort to establish a so-called "buffer zone" along the border.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also announced the capture of Bilovody, another nearby village, suggesting continued territorial gains. While Russia’s primary offensive remains focused on the eastern Donetsk region, these advances in the northeast demonstrate Moscow’s ability to stretch Ukrainian defenses across multiple fronts.

President Zelenskyy warned on Monday that Russia is preparing new offensives not only in Sumy but also in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. “There is clear evidence of preparations for further attacks,” he said, without offering specific details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously called for the creation of a border buffer zone, including during a visit to the Kursk region in March.

Ukrainian officials say Russian troops—using small mobile units on motorcycles and backed by drones—have been steadily expanding their assault zones in the Sumy region. Hryhorov noted that Ukrainian forces are maintaining control and delivering targeted fire on enemy positions.

While Russia claims full control over Kursk, Ukraine insists it still maintains a presence in parts of the region.

Military blog DeepState reported over the weekend that Russian troops have, for the first time, established positions in a line of border villages in Sumy. As of Tuesday, they estimated that Russia controls approximately 62.6 square kilometers (24.2 square miles) in the region.

Last month, a Russian missile strike on the city of Sumy killed 36 people.