Seven people have been confirmed dead and at least 18 injured after Russian drones struck a residential block in Kharkiv in the early hours of Monday, 18 August.
The city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the fatalities include a one-and-a-half-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. Rescue teams continued to work through the morning, with officials cautioning that figures could change as operations proceed.
Local authorities said multiple Shahed/Geran-2-type drones hit a five-storey apartment building in the Industrialnyi district, causing fires and partial structural collapse. Earlier reports from emergency services recorded steady increases in casualties as teams gained access to new sections of the building. Photographs released by officials showed severe smoke damage and collapsed internal elements.
The strike followed a separate incident shortly before midnight on Sunday, when a ballistic missile detonated in the same district. Regional authorities reported shattered glazing across residential blocks, with more than 1,000 windows damaged by the blast wave. The missile attack preceded the pre-dawn drone impacts on the apartment building.
By late morning, the city confirmed seven dead and at least 18 injured. Around a dozen apartment buildings sustained damage according to city and regional updates. Officials said cordons were established around the impact zone while engineers assessed stairwells and floor slabs for stability.
Kharkiv City Hall declared 18 August a day of mourning. Municipal measures include flags at half-mast and the suspension of entertainment programming. Authorities advised residents to follow air-raid instructions and to avoid damaged structures until technical inspections are complete.
The attack on Kharkiv formed part of a wider wave of Russian missile and drone activity reported late on 17 August and into the morning of 18 August. In Sumy, explosions were heard around 22:45 local time, with a missile reported near an educational institution; regional authorities later cited additional incidents in border settlements. In Odesa, local media recorded blasts during an overnight alert period. The Air Force also warned of glide-bomb use along front-line regions and the risk of drone swarms.
The timing coincided with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival in Washington for talks at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on 18 August. Reuters and other outlets reported that European leaders would join discussions intended to address proposals advanced following a U.S.–Russia meeting in Alaska days earlier. Kyiv has rejected any plan requiring the cession of unoccupied territory; French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s proposals amounted to a call for Ukraine’s “surrender”, not a peace framework.
Ukrainian officials described the Kharkiv incident as a drone strike on a civilian residential area. Emergency services reported that among the injured were children, and that two people were rescued alive from beneath debris during the morning phase of operations. Authorities maintained that casualty reporting would be updated once all sections of the building and adjacent basements had been cleared.
As of 11:28 a.m. Kyiv time on 18 August, the confirmed toll from the Kharkiv strike stands at seven dead and at least 18 injured, including two children among the fatalities. Search-and-rescue and structural safety assessments continue under the coordination of the State Emergency Service and the city administration.
