A wave of Russian drone and missile strikes has hit several regions across Ukraine, leaving at least 59 people injured and six others dead within 24 hours, according to local authorities.
The attacks, which intensified overnight on April 21, 2026, targeted residential areas and key infrastructure, including a medical facility in the northeastern city of Sumy and surrounding parts of the Kharkiv Oblast.
In Sumy, officials reported that at least 10 drones struck the city’s Zarichnyi district, causing widespread destruction. Fifteen people were injured, including three teenage girls, with victims suffering from shrapnel wounds and trauma-related conditions.
A medical facility sustained a direct hit, while several high-rise residential buildings and multiple vehicles were damaged or set ablaze. Across the wider Sumy region, authorities recorded more than 90 separate attacks affecting dozens of settlements near the border.
The strikes extended beyond Sumy into other parts of the country. In the Kharkiv region, 12 people were injured across multiple communities, including a teenage victim. A drone strike in Chuhuiv reportedly damaged a childcare facility and several homes.
Further south in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, at least three people were killed and eight others injured following sustained bombardments involving artillery and guided munitions. In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, two fatalities and several injuries were reported after hundreds of strikes targeted dozens of settlements.
Ukraine’s national grid operator, Ukrenergo, confirmed that energy infrastructure was also affected, particularly in the Chernihiv region, where tens of thousands of residents were left without electricity. Emergency crews are working to restore power under challenging conditions.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted a significant number of incoming drones during the attacks, though officials noted that the scale and coordination of the strikes appear designed to overwhelm air defense systems.
Ukrainian authorities have condemned the attacks, especially the strike on a healthcare facility, describing them as violations of international humanitarian norms and accusing Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilian areas.
The latest escalation underscores the continuing intensity of the conflict sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with frontline regions and civilian infrastructure remaining under persistent threat.