Russia downs 605 Ukrainian drones overnight as UN condemns both sides for civilian strikes

UN condemns both sides as civilian strikes escalate

UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned both Russia and Ukraine on 6 August for escalating strikes on civilian areas. Speaking through his spokesperson Farhan Haq, Guterres denounced an "escalation" of strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, which he regards as a violation of humanitarian law.

The condemnation followed a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and other cities that killed at least 17 people and injured 44 across Kyiv and its region on the morning of 5 August, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The regional military administration had earlier reported 14 dead and 27 injured in the region alone, nine of the dead in Brovary district, while the city of Kyiv recorded one woman killed. Zelenskyy said the strikes hit warehouses belonging to civilian firms, a railway station, a brewery, stores of construction materials and civilian logistics sites. The UN noted that civilian casualties have increased in 2026 as the war reaches its 1,624th day.

Ukraine launches mass drone barrage across Russia

Over the night of 5-6 August, Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 605 Ukrainian drones across roughly 20 regions and annexed Crimea. In the Tver region, about 180 km northwest of Moscow, a Wildberries logistics centre was lightly damaged by debris, according to governor Vitaly Korolyov, who said no one was wounded. Mikhail Yevrayev, governor of the Yaroslavl region about 250 km north of Moscow, reported the "most massive attack" against his region, with 92 drones shot down; debris caused fires in houses and damaged cars. Since mid-July, Ukraine has struck about 20 Wildberries sites across Russia and Crimea. The online commerce platform, often described as Russia's Amazon, generates 6,200 billion roubles (about 66 billion euros) in revenue and handles nearly 7 million orders per day, representing roughly half of Russia's online commerce market. Analyst Sergei Semko of Data Insight, cited by Forbes Russia, estimated that sellers on Wildberries have lost between 215 and 280 billion roubles (about 3 billion euros) from drone-related disruptions.

Refineries and Black Sea ship hit

President Zelenskyy said Ukrainian strikes hit an oil refinery in Bashkiria, more than 1,300 km from the front, and another in the Yaroslavl region, 700 km from the front. Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets killed three people in Balaklia in the Kharkiv region overnight, and two men were killed by a drone at the Lozova railway station. In the Black Sea, a bulk carrier flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau and loaded with Ukrainian wheat was struck by Russia, causing a fire on board and killing one person, according to Oleg Kiper, governor of the Odessa region.

Diplomatic moves and domestic politics

Zelenskyy will travel to Serbia on 8 August for his first official visit since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is scheduled to receive him. Serbia, an EU candidate and traditional ally of Moscow, has not adopted sanctions against Russia. Yulia Navalnaya, widow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died in prison in 2024, called on Russians to vote for the anti-war Yabloko party in September's legislative elections. She described the vote as "the only legal and safe opportunity" to express disagreement with the government. Yabloko, which has not held seats in the State Duma since 2003, is the only party on the ballot publicly opposing the war in Ukraine.