KRYVIY RIH, Ukraine -- Russian ballistic missile strike hit a home in the village of Radushne in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing almost an entire family, as Ukrainian officials reported at least nine people dead and dozens of others injured across the country.
The devastating Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine on July 30 came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned from the United States, where he said US President Donald Trump had agreed to provide Kyiv with licenses for Patriot missiles.
Just hours before the attack began, Zelenskyy had warned of the threat while emphasizing to Ukraine's Western partners the need for Patriot missiles to defend the country against attacks such as the one Moscow ultimately carried out.
"It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening and that the protection of lives directly depends on their readiness, or lack thereof, to help us with air defense missiles," he wrote in a post on X.
Russia May Have Killed Family With North Korean Missile, Zelenskyy Says
As emergency workers rushed to clear rubble at the scene of the attack in Radushne, near Zelenskyy's home town of Kriviy Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, the local defense council head, said at least six members of one family had been killed in the Russian strike.
It was a "dark night," he added, warning that the death toll could rise, with Ukraine's emergency service reporting that four more family members were feared dead and 10 other people had been injured.
Local resident Mykola told RFE/RL that the family affected by the attack had 10 children in all, eight of whom lived in the building targeted by Russian forces on July 30. "Such a good family," he said of his neighbors.
"This Russian terror once again proves that protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people," Zelenskyy said following the attack.
Later, he added that initial findings from the strike in Radushne indicated that the missile had originated in North Korea.
Zelenskyy linked the incident to Moscow's alliance with Pyongyang, which he said existed "for the sake of deploying a North Korean contingent here in Europe, on our borders, and for the sake of killing our Ukrainian children."
Last week, the Ukrainian president said that Moscow wanted to bring in thousands of North Korean soldiers again for its invasion of Ukraine, with preparations underway in Russia since early summer.
A new deployment of North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine would mark the second such development since 2024, when around 12,000 North Korea troops were deployed to fight in Russia’s Kursk region following a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces.
Elsewhere, three more people were killed in Russian strikes in the capital, Kyiv, in Poltava, and in Pavlohrad, in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Two other people were reported missing in the western city of Lviv, near the border with Poland.
According to local authorities, Russian missiles and drones damaged dozens of apartment buildings in Lviv and injured at least 30 people. Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the strikes also damaged two kindergartens and a school.
"There was a huge explosion -- it was terrifying," a Lviv resident whose apartment was hit while she was inside during the attack told RFE/RL.
"We hid for a while and waited to see what would happen next," she said, adding that the kitchen in her apartment was completely destroyed, while the other rooms were also damaged, with cracks spreading throughout the apartment.
Poland Scrambles Fighter Jets
Poland, a member of the European Union and NATO, scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace amid Russian air strikes, its armed forces said on X.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a Russian missile attack on western Ukraine resulted in a violation of Polish airspace, prompting him to convene a coordination team with the defense minister and relevant services.
Later, Tusk added that the projectile was likely a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. He said that he had contacted European leaders about the matter.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the incident an "unacceptable violation" of European Union airspace, adding that the EU was "helping Ukraine win this war in every way" it could "to put an end to this."
Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed what it described as large-scale strikes on Ukraine using long-range precision weapons launched from land, air, and sea.
It also reported that the overnight strikes hit a cargo ship in the port of Pivdenniy and two cargo vessels near Odesa that were allegedly transporting weapons and military equipment.
Ukraine Carries Out Attacks On Wildberries, Russia's Amazon
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continued striking major Wildberries warehouses, across several Russian regions. Wildberries is widely regarded as Russia's equivalent to global retail giant Amazon.
On July 30, a drone attack set a Wildberries warehouse ablaze in Russia's Penza region, Governor Oleg Melnichenko said, while the company's press office also reported a strike on another facility in Sarapul, in the Russian region of Udmurtia.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have struck several major Wildberries warehouses across multiple Russian regions, as Kyiv claims the company is used to transport military-related goods.
Media reports estimate the Ukrainian drone campaign may have disrupted roughly 10 percent of Wildberries' total warehouse capacity, potentially affecting the retailer's logistics network across Russia.
