Russia and Ukraine continue to trade long-range strikes, overnight into Monday, August 17. At least 9 people were killed and 23 injured in Ukrainian attacks on Russia, according to Russian regional authorities, including eight deaths in the Belgorod region and another in Astrakhan.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, Russian strikes killed civilians in the Sumy and Donetsk regions and damaged a foreign-flagged commercial vessel near Odesa.
Putin Mach 2020 Russian Federation Photo Handout
Putin at a Conference 2026. Kremlin Handout Photo.
Dozens of stalls also burned at a market in Sloviansk.
The latest attacks came just one day after Russia said it intercepted 822 Ukrainian drones in what Moscow described as Ukraine’s largest aerial assault of 2026.
Deadly Ukrainian Strikes Hit Russia
Some of the highest casualties reported on Monday were in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders northeastern Ukraine and has been repeatedly targeted throughout the war.
Acting Belgorod Governor Alexander Shuvaev said six people were killed and four injured, including a 14-year-old, in an attack on the village of Koloskovo in the Valuysky district.
A building caught fire and a vehicle was damaged.
Additional attacks elsewhere in Belgorod brought the region’s reported death toll over the previous 24 hours to eight.
To the east, Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin said a woman was killed when a Ukrainian drone struck a home. Russian authorities said the attack had targeted an industrial facility but failed to damage it.
Russia Hits Ukrainian Cities and a Commercial Ship
Russia continues to respond to Ukraine’s so-called “long-range sanctions” campaign with its own devastating strikes, and its forces did so last night with attacks across at least 10 regions.
In the Donetsk region, Russian strikes killed civilians in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said a strike on Sloviansk caused a major fire at a local market.
Russian attacks also killed two people in the Sumy region, while strikes elsewhere wounded civilians in Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv and Odesa.
Regional authorities reported at least eight deaths and more than 40 injuries across Ukraine over a 24-hour period.
The attack on Odesa also reportedly damaged a civilian vessel that was flying the flag of Togo.
Odesa regional Governor Oleh Kiper also said that four people were injured in the strikes, with three hospitalized and one in serious condition.
The attack comes as Russia continues to target Ukrainian Black Sea ports and the infrastructure that allows Kyiv to maintain its maritime trade.
Recent Deep Strikes
Monday’s attacks also come after an extraordinary Ukrainian operation that took place overnight into Sunday, proving just how far Kyiv’s long-range capabilities have come.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that 822 Ukrainian drones were intercepted across the country during the strikes, targeting Moscow and a number of other regions.
An 83-year-old man was killed in Podolsk in the Moscow region, while Ukraine also struck a massive Wildberries logistics center at Koledino, roughly 30 miles south of central Moscow.
Footage shared by Reuters and social media also showed smoke pouring from the complex as firefighting aircraft responded.
Ukraine says the Wildberries distribution network is not just a private commercial operation, but a critical part of Russia’s military logistics network that supplies dual-use products.
Kyiv has now targeted seven of the company’s 10 largest logistics centers since the campaign began on July 18.
So far, that campaign has destroyed as much as 20% of Wildberries’ warehouse capacity, disrupting deliveries and business operations for a company that accounts for roughly half of all online orders in Russia.
Russia Builds New Jet-Drone Launch Sites
The long-range threat is already substantial for both sides, but it could soon grow substantially, with a new investigation showing that Russia has constructed at least 10 launch sites for its newest jet-powered attack drones close to Ukraine and NATO’s eastern frontier.
The report described how satellite imagery and leaked documents reveal at least 59 newly constructed launch rails, including at converted military installations and civilian airfields.
Russia has increasingly relied on jet-powered variants of its attack drones in recent months.
The heavily upgraded versions of Iranian Shahed designs travel considerably faster than conventional Shahed-type weapons and therefore give Ukrainian air defenses less time to detect and intercept them.
Some of the newly identified sites are reportedly already being used for attacks on Ukraine.
That threat was visible overnight into Monday.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 128 drones, including Shahed-type weapons and jet-powered variants, with Ukrainian forces claiming to have intercepted or suppressed 106.
The new infrastructure shows that Russia is preparing to increase the size and speed of future drone salvos.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is doubling down on its long-range attacks, with the Russian economy in its sights – but its lack of Patriot interceptors makes it vulnerable to Russian attacks, with Russian forces using combinations of jet-powered drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles on an almost nightly basis.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
