Russian drone strike kills mother and son, UN reports deadliest month for civilians

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone strike hit a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, local officials said. The attack came one day after the United Nations reported that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the early weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion more than four years ago. At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded in July, according to the U.N. monitoring mission in Kyiv. Russia has escalated its bombing of Ukrainian towns and cities. Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.N. says the war has killed at least 16,874 civilians, including 820 children, and wounded 51,273 others. "Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July," said Danielle Bell, head of the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Kyiv. "The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest we documented in a single month since March 2022." The strike in the Sumy region early Friday also wounded four other people, including the boy's father and grandmother, who were hospitalized with severe burns, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional military administration. **Glide bombs hit apartment block in Donetsk** In eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, a Russian glide bomb destroyed six floors of a 10-story apartment building, killing one person and wounding 16 others, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia launches about 220 glide bombs every day against settlements near the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media. Russian forces use heavy weapons — including 3,000-pound glide bombs, artillery, missiles, and drones — to destroy towns before sending in infantry. The tactic has made many areas uninhabitable. In total, Russia attacked 12 Ukrainian regions overnight, wounding dozens of people, Zelenskyy said. **Ukraine strikes Russian port and retailer** Ukrainian forces extended their long-range strikes against Russian infrastructure, hitting the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region north of Moscow and causing a brief fire, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said. Ust-Luga is one of Russia's largest oil and gas export terminals, located more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Ukraine. It has been a frequent target this summer as Kyiv tries to reduce Russian oil revenue used to fund the war. Ukraine also attacked a warehouse of Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, which Kyiv says helps supply the Russian military. The attack damaged a wall of the warehouse in the Tver region, said acting Governor Vitaly Korolyov. Wildberries reported minor damage and said stored goods were not affected. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 553 Ukrainian drones overnight over 18 regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black seas. **NATO jets shoot down drone over Latvia** NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early Friday, the Latvian army and a NATO official said. Latvian authorities did not identify the drone's origin but said it entered the country "as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare." Several drones have previously crossed into Latvia. Most are believed to be Ukrainian drones that went off course due to Russian electronic jamming. Two Italian Eurofighter jets were scrambled, and one shot down the drone, said NATO spokesperson Allison Hart. Two Turkish fighter jets were also deployed. Residents in five municipalities in eastern Latvia were warned about the airspace threat and told to take shelter.