At Least 2 Killed In Russian Strikes On Ukraine As Danube Port Infrastructure Damaged

Several missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killed at least one civilian on July 24.

Russian shelling and missile strikes on Ukrainian regions on July 24 killed at least two people, injured several others, and damaged infrastructure in the Danube port of Izmayil, regional officials reported.

An elderly woman died in the southern city of Kherson during Russian shelling overnight, the regional military administration reported.

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"At night, the Russian Army hit a residential building in the Dnipro district of Kherson. Unfortunately, a 77-year-old woman was killed and her body was found under the rubble of her own home," it said on Telegram.

Several missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killed at least one civilian, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.

"The first strike targeted an industrial zone in one of Kharkiv's districts.... The second hit a private enterprise area, setting a building on fire. There are reports of one dead person," Terekhov said.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said separately that an industrial building was set on fire in the attack on the city's Nemyshlyanskiy district.

Oleh Kiper, the governor of the southern region of Odesa, reported that Russian drones struck the area of the Danube port of Izmayil, which is critical for Ukraine's grain exports.

"The port infrastructure and an apartment building were targeted by the Russians," Kiper wrote on Telegram, adding that three people were injured. Kiper said the attack damaged several port installations and a fire broke out, but it was eventually put out by firefighters.

In Bucharest, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine's NATO neighbor, Romania, said that following the attacks on Izmayil, which is located on the Danube's left bank just across Romania's Tulcea county, it scrambled two warplanes in the area.

"Two F-16 fighter jets took off at 2:19 a.m. local time from Borcea Air Base to monitor the situation. The two aircraft returned to the base at 4:20 a.m.," the ministry said in a statement. Romania's Borcea Air Base is located some 135 kilometers southeast of Izmayil.

Earlier, authorities in Tulcea county issued alerts after several drones were observed close to the border. Debris from Russian drones has fallen on Romania's territory several times in the past.

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Ukraine's air force said that its air-defense systems shot down 17 of the 23 drones launched by Russia at Ukrainian targets. According to the commander of Ukraine's air force, General Mykola Oleschuk, most drones were downed over the Odesa region.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense systems downed three Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region.

Ukraine, whose civilian and energy infrastructure has been devastated by incessant Russian missile and drone attacks, has in turn targeted oil refining installations and other fuel-producing facilities inside Russia that work for the military.

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In an interview with The Guardian, Ukraine’s top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, said on July 24 that so far, Ukrainian drones have targeted "about 200 critical infrastructure sites" such as factories, fuel dumps, and ammunition depots deep inside Russia, all of which were connected with "military logistics."

Ukraine has also claimed that its sea drones have sunk or disabled one-third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea.

"It really became a trap for them and for some [vessels] a grave," Sryskiy told The Guardian.