Crystal Dike
In the quiet village of Chernechchyna, in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region, tragedy struck overnight when a Russian drone strike reduced a family home to rubble. By morning, rescuers pulled from the wreckage the bodies of a mother, father, and their two young sons — aged just four and six.
“They were asleep when the drone hit,” said regional governor Oleh Hryhorov, his voice heavy with grief as he confirmed the deaths. “This is a tragedy we will never forget or forgive.” Photographs released by Ukraine’s emergency service (DSNS) showed firefighters battling flames as two residential buildings stood partially destroyed, their walls ripped open by the force of the blast.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 46 out of 65 Russian drones launched across the country overnight, but 19 still reached their targets, hitting six different locations. Moscow, for its part, claimed its forces had destroyed 81 Ukrainian drones across five Russian regions in the same period — reporting no casualties on its side.
The strike in Sumy has once again highlighted the toll of Russia’s relentless aerial campaign, which has escalated in recent weeks. Drone and missile attacks have become a near-daily occurrence, leaving civilians bearing the brunt of a war that shows no sign of ending.
“This is not about military targets. They are deliberately targeting our people, our homes,” Hryhorov charged in a statement on Telegram, calling for stronger international support.
Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to Western allies for advanced air defence systems and long-range weapons to counter the attacks. Ukrainian officials argue that only strikes deep inside Russia can weaken Moscow’s military industry and push President Vladimir Putin toward meaningful negotiations.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €2 billion allocation for drone procurement to boost Ukraine’s defences. “This allows Ukraine to scale up and use its full capacity. And of course, it will also allow the European Union to benefit from this technology,” she said.
In Washington, US Vice-President JD Vance confirmed that America is weighing Kyiv’s request for Tomahawk long-range missiles — weapons that could put Moscow and other major Russian cities within reach.
Yet, even as Western leaders weigh new aid, the war grinds on. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, civilians like the family in Chernechchyna have endured the worst of the devastation. Calls for peace have come from US President Donald Trump and some European leaders, but Putin has so far refused to halt hostilities.
For the villagers of Sumy, the loss of four innocent lives is a stark reminder of the human cost of the conflict. The charred ruins of the family home now stand as both a symbol of resilience and a haunting marker of the civilian casualties of the Ukraine war.