On the night of July 19, Russian forces launched a massive attack on Ukrainian cities using more than 300 strike drones and over 30 missiles of various types. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported this on social media.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian troops from various units repelled the attack throughout the night, with some enemy targets still being destroyed as drones remain in the air. Regions hit included Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Dnipro, Sumy, Kherson, Volyn, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa and Zhytomyr.
In Sumy, critical infrastructure was damaged, leaving several thousand families without electricity. The city of Shostka came under combined drone and missile strikes. In Odesa, a residential building was hit, injuring six people including a child — one person was killed. In Pavlohrad, attacks damaged a residential building and critical infrastructure facilities.
Zelensky said that emergency services are working everywhere needed, restoring damaged sites and helping people affected by the strikes. He thanked international partners for understanding how important it is to swiftly deliver on defense agreements, including joint weapons production, investments in Ukrainian-made interceptor drones, air defense systems and missiles, as well as the ability to produce them domestically to save lives now.