In a heartbreaking incident, an entire Ukrainian family, consisting of a couple and their two young sons, lost their lives overnight due to a Russian drone attack in the Sumy region. According to local officials, the strike hit a residential building in the village of Chernechchyna. Rescuers later recovered the bodies of the two boys, aged four and six, along with their parents, from the rubble.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that its forces successfully intercepted 46 out of 65 Russian drones targeting the country, though 19 managed to hit their mark in six different locations. Russia has not yet commented on the incident, but stated that 81 Ukrainian drones were destroyed across five Russian regions overnight, reporting no casualties on their side.
Oleh Hryhorov, the regional head, accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting the residential building, calling the loss of the family a “tragedy that we will never forget or forgive.” The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) confirmed that two residential buildings in Chernechchyna were partially destroyed and shared images of firefighters battling the resulting blaze.
This attack comes amid an intensified aerial assault by Russia on Ukraine in recent weeks, with hundreds of drones and numerous missiles being deployed regularly. Ukraine continues to appeal to its Western allies for advanced air defense systems to counter these attacks and has also sought long-range missiles capable of striking targets deep within Russia, arguing such capabilities would cripple Russia’s military industry and pressure President Vladimir Putin into peace talks.