Russian troops attacked Sumy with guided aerial bombs during the night, according to the State Emergency Service. A woman and two girls, aged 5 and 10, were killed in the private residential sector and at civilian infrastructure sites. A further four people were injured. Whilst rescue operations were underway, Russian forces launched repeated strikes on several occasions against the locations where rescue workers were operating.
Briefly about the main points
- In Sumy, a woman and two girls were killed in a KAB strike.
- The children were rescued from under the rubble of the destroyed buildings.
- Four people were injured.
- Repeated attacks have damaged the State Emergency Service’s specialist equipment.
- A fire in a residential area in the Konotop community has been brought under control.
Rescue workers were searching for people under the rubble
The strike targeted the private residential sector and civilian infrastructure. Rescue workers were operating simultaneously at several locations: clearing the rubble of destroyed buildings, carrying out search and rescue operations, and extinguishing fires.
Emergency services recovered the bodies of two girls from under the rubble of buildings. At another address, they found the body of a woman who had died.
During these operations, Russian troops repeatedly attacked the areas where State Emergency Service units were working. One of the strikes damaged specialist equipment. According to preliminary reports, no personnel were injured and they continued their work.
Air strikes and the risks to the emergency services
That same night, the Konotop community in the Sumy region came under fire. A fire broke out in a residential area, which was extinguished by the State Emergency Service upon their arrival at the scene.
Sumy has been hit on numerous occasions guided aerial bombs throughout the summer of 2026. In particular, on 3 July, Russian forces launched five guided bombs at the Sumy community, and on 11 July, aerial bombs once again struck the town’s civilian infrastructure.
Repeated strikes pose an additional danger to the emergency services and may hamper the clearing of rubble, fire-fighting and the evacuation of people. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has previously noted that such repeated attacks have resulted in casualties among rescue workers, medical staff and police in Ukraine.
Civilian casualties resulting from air strikes
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, in May 2026, aerial bombardments near the front line resulted in 57 civilian deaths and 179 civilian injuries in Ukraine. These figures relate to the whole country, not just the Sumy region, but they highlight the scale of the risk to border regions.
