More young lives lost and devastated in Russia attacks on Ukraine: UNICEF

The development came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a group of European leaders arrived in Washington to meet President Donald Trump, who held talks on a possible peace deal to end the war with President Vladimir Putin of Russia last Friday.

“More young lives lost and devastated in brutal attacks in Ukraine,” UNICEF said in an online post condemning the attacks. “End attacks on populated areas. Protect children.”

Destruction in Kharkiv

Footage released by the Ukrainian authorities showed an apartment complex in Kharkiv with a massive hole in the shattered roof and upper floors, where fires had been extinguished.

Kharkiv is located in the northeast of the country and just 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the Russian border. Ukraine’s second city has suffered heavy destruction and repeated shelling since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022.

Meanwhile, a separate Russian attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia left three dead and approximately 20 injured, according to the Ukrainian authorities, who said they had shot down 88 drones and missiles launched overnight.

A recent update from UN human rights monitors in Ukraine noted that July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in the country since May 2022, with 286 killed and 1,388 injured.

“Aerial bombs caused the biggest rise [and] short-range drones made up 24 per cent of casualties,” said the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

Russian troops’ push

The increase in the number of civilian casualties between June and July 2025 mainly took place in areas controlled by the Ukrainian Government along frontlines. This indicated the “intensive military efforts by Russian armed forces to capture territory”, the UN monitors explained.

And although long-range missile strikes and other munitions caused about 20 per cent fewer casualties in July compared with June, they were responsible for almost 40 per cent of all non-combatant deaths and injuries, including in the cities of Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Short-range drones were the second leading cause of civilian casualties, accounting for nearly one in four death and injuries (64 killed and 337 injured)^, said HRMMU.

As in June, nearly all civilian casualties (98 per cent) occurred in areas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. Civilian casualties were recorded across 18 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv.