Moscow/Kyiv, 28 July (H.S.): The war between Russia and Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, continues unabated. While Russia has inflicted widespread destruction across Ukraine, Kyiv has also intensified its cross-border strikes in recent months, resulting in growing casualties and damage inside Russian territory. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Monday that 86 Russian civilians were killed in Ukrainian attacks carried out between July 15 and July 24.

According to reports by The Moscow Times and Xinhua, Zakharova told a press conference that 86 people, including six children, were killed in Ukrainian military strikes during the nine-day period. She added that 409 people, including 12 children, were injured. Zakharova alleged that Western countries were actively encouraging attacks on Russia by supplying weapons and strengthening Ukraine's military capabilities.

She further said that, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, more than 240 children had been killed and nearly 1,225 others injured in Ukrainian attacks between 2014 and 2026. Zakharova stated, No one on this earth can claim they did not know what was happening. Ukraine and its allies will have to pay the price.

Meanwhile, regional authorities said on Monday morning that Ukrainian air strikes in southern Russia had killed at least five people and injured nearly two dozen others. Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said in a Telegram post that a residential building in Rostov-on-Don, near the Sea of Azov, was struck, killing a couple. He later confirmed that three more bodies, including that of a child, were recovered from the rubble.

Slyusar said five people were injured in the attack, two of them critically, adding that falling drone debris triggered fires at multiple locations. Hours after the overnight strike on Rostov-on-Don, Russian Railways announced restrictions on freight transportation to the key ports of Azov and Taganrog until August 4.

Authorities also reported that a drone strike in Belgorod city injured 12 people, including two children, and caused a fire in a residential building.

Russia has continued to retaliate with heavy attacks. Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said one person was killed and two others injured in guided aerial bomb and drone strikes on the southern city, which has endured intense bombardment in recent months. In Ukraine's northern Sumy region, five people were injured in a separate Russian guided aerial bomb attack.

On Sunday, Russian forces also launched a ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, killing four people. Ukraine's Air Force said ballistic missiles targeted the capital, triggering powerful explosions across the city. In the northern city of Chernihiv, local authorities said a Russian drone struck a supermarket, killing two people, including a 10-year-old child, and injuring three others.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar