Baby in Stroller Killed as Russia Rains Drones on Ukraine

A Russian drone strike on a park in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region has killed a 14-month-old girl and five other people, as civilian casualties from Russia’s attacks rose sharply in September, according to Ukrainian officials and the United Nations.

People carry their belongings as they leave their office following Russian air attack in Kyiv.

The drone struck a central park in Nova Vodolaha on Monday, where families with children had gathered, Ukrainian authorities said. “Unfortunately, two women and an infant who was in a stroller were killed,” Ukrainian official Ivan Vyhivskyi wrote on Telegram.

At least 15 other people were wounded, including seven children, according to Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Emergency medical teams were transporting the injured to hospitals.

Syniehubov initially reported six deaths, including three children. An updated breakdown identified five of the victims as three women aged 28, 34 and 36, and two girls aged 11 and 14 months. A nearby cafe was also damaged in the attack, officials said.

The strike came as UN human rights monitors warned that Russia’s intensifying bombardment had driven civilian casualties to some of their highest levels since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At least 328 civilians were killed and another 2,105 injured in Ukraine in September, an 85% increase in casualties compared with the same month last year, according to the UN.

In the capital, Kyiv, civilians were killed or injured on 22 of the month’s 30 days — the highest frequency recorded in any month since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The violence extended across the country, with casualties reported in 22 Ukrainian regions and Kyiv. The verified civilian toll for the first nine months of 2026 reached 2,570 dead and 15,211 injured, representing a 59% increase in total casualties compared with the same period last year.

“The first two weeks of October were among the deadliest periods for civilians in years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

A Russian barrage of cruise missiles and drones on the night of 6 and 7 October killed 22 civilians and injured 45 others in Pryluky, in the northern Chernihiv region, according to UN monitors.

Russia has also intensified attacks on Ukraine’s electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approaches.

Strikes on 13 and 14 October damaged several energy facilities, including Kyiv’s three main power stations, temporarily leaving about 600,000 residents of the capital without electricity, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The International Organization for Migration has warned that further damage to energy infrastructure could force Ukrainians who have returned to their homes to flee again.

About 1.45 million people who have returned to their homes are living in frontline districts, while roughly 2.1 million elderly Ukrainians live alone in apartment buildings, leaving them particularly vulnerable to prolonged power cuts and heating outages.

“Systematically attacking electricity and heating infrastructure as winter approaches is bound to inflict significant suffering on the civilian population,” Bell warned.

The latest civilian deaths came as US President Donald Trump reiterated his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has blamed for obstructing efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

Speaking to reporters on the White House’s South Lawn on Monday, Trump said Russia had not been carrying out significant military action in Ukraine. “Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much,” he said.

Trump has said he is working to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.

Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitic… Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitical and international affairs. He has a keen interest in research and explainers and loves to travel whenever he is not writing. Over the years, he has covered important national and international events, including the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections in India, the 2024 US elections, and done a host of interviews covering multiple areas. View MoreView Less