12 Killed in Zaporizhzhia Camp Attack

PHOTO CAPTION: Rescuers work at a site of the drinking water delivery company hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine July 25, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Twelve people, including five children, were killed in an overnight drone attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-installed local authorities said Saturday.

The authorities accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians. Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Nineteen people were wounded in the attack on the resort area of Kyrylivka, located on the Sea of Azov coast near Melitopol, according to Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukrainian drones struck people while they were sleeping at the camp. She condemned what she called “inhuman crimes.”

Zakharova also referred to an attack on a factory in Russia’s Kirov region on Thursday that killed six people.

Video posted online from the holiday camp showed shattered buildings, burned vehicles and rubble beside a swimming pool.

Balitsky said crews from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry pulled two survivors from the debris, including a child, and recovered another body. He said rescue operations had been completed.

“The enemy saw and understood who it was targeting,” Balitsky wrote on Telegram.

He accused authorities in Kyiv of deliberately killing civilians, including adults and children. Ukraine had not responded to those allegations at the time of the Reuters report.

Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a terrorism case following the attack, Russian state news agency RIA reported.

(Source: Reuters)