Ukraine reports multiple casualties as Russian forces target Odesa port and residential areas
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of waging a systematic war on global food security following a major assault on Odesa’s grain export hub.
Russian forces launched coordinated overnight attacks across several Ukrainian regions on 9 August 2026, resulting in multiple fatalities and significant damage to residential and energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed strikes across the Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, and Donetsk regions, marking a broadening of military pressure on Ukrainian territory.
In Kharkiv, a missile strike on an apartment building in the Saltivskyi district killed two men, aged 50 and 66, and wounded at least 21 people. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov described the scene on Telegram, noting a large breach across four storeys of the high-rise. In the southern Kherson region, artillery fire killed a 61-year-old woman in the Berislavsky district, while in Pavlohrad, an attack near a shopping mall wounded nine people, including four children.
The most substantial assault occurred in Odesa, where Russian forces deployed a barrage of ballistic, anti-ship, and anti-radar missiles alongside more than 200 Shahed drones. The Ukrainian air force recorded impacts at 22 locations, with remnants of downed missiles found at six sites. The strikes injured eight people and caused damage to residential buildings, the energy sector, and port facilities.
Zelenskyy characterised the attack on Odesa as a deliberate attempt to undermine global food security, citing the port’s critical role in international grain exports. This follows a pattern of sustained pressure on the region, with Governor Oleh Kiper previously reporting that attacks on the Odesa port killed 28 people in the first three weeks of July alone. Repair work is currently underway to restore power to the affected areas.
In response to the escalating hostilities, Ukrainian drones struck targets in Russia’s Belgorod region, killing three civilians according to Russian state media agency TASS. Meanwhile, Russian strikes targeted two oil refineries in Ukraine’s Sumy region, reported by Reuters, continuing the reciprocal targeting of energy infrastructure that has defined much of the conflict.
