Russian attacks kill four people in Balakliia

Russian forces struck Balakliia in Kharkiv Oblast twice on the evening of Sept. 18, killing four people and prompting local officials to declare Sept. 19 a day of mourning. The first strike hit a residential district, killing two people and wounding others; a later drone strike hit a private home, trapping an elderly couple whose bodies, a 74-year-old man and 71-year-old woman, were later recovered by rescuers.

The attacks were part of a larger overnight assault in which Russia launched two Zircon missiles and 174 drones at Ukraine, according to the Air Force, which said it shot down or suppressed 141 aerial targets. Odesa and Kyiv oblasts were the main targets of that broader barrage.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.