There have been further Russian attacks on Kyiv

Eight dead and 33 injured. This is the toll from the Russian raids that struck Kyiv and the surrounding region during the night between Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 August, in what the Ukrainian authorities are describing as a "massive attack". Missiles and drones struck residential buildings and warehouses. A children’s hospital and a school were also damaged. Rescue workers are still working to extract people trapped under the rubble, having already rescued two survivors.

The shockwave from the attack also reached neighbouring countries. In Romania, a drone violated national airspace approximately 13 kilometres from Galați, triggering an alert. It crashed in an uninhabited area, causing a small fire which was extinguished without any casualties or damage. Poland, which shares a long stretch of south-eastern border with Ukraine, has launched ‘defensive operations’ in its airspace.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, spoke of damage to a children’s hospital – broken windows, cars set alight nearby – and to a school. An industrial centre in the Solomjanskyi district, south-west of the capital, was hit by missiles. In the Brovary district, on the outskirts of Kyiv, an attack killed one man and injured another person, according to regional governor Tymur Tkachenko. The raids have cut off power to thousands of households, whilst technicians are working to repair the damaged grid.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claims to have struck a drone components factory and an ammunition depot in Kyiv – a claim which the BBC is unable to verify independently.

Kyiv has been under attack almost every night for weeks, with raids that have in some cases claimed dozens of lives. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has struck more than twelve Ukrainian regions in the past week, launching over 1,550 attack drones, 1,560 guided glide bombs and 62 missiles.

On the other hand, Ukraine has stepped up incursions deep into Russian territory, with a recent attack involving 600 drones on Moscow. Two Ukrainian raids against Russia in the past week have killed at least 16 people, including a child. Since July, Kyiv has been systematically targeting the warehouses of Wildberries, the ‘Russian Amazon’: according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, seven of the company’s ten largest logistics centres are now ‘out of action’.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory are also aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to come to the negotiating table, but diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire remain at a standstill. Both sides accuse each other of targeting civilians. Russia launched a large-scale invasion in February 2022 and currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, concentrated mainly in the eastern border regions.