The security of Russian citizens in the breakaway region of Transnistria, located in Moldova, is currently under threat, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said, according to the state news agency TASS.

Shoigu stated that Russia will use all available means to protect its citizens in Transnistria.

New Russian strikes in Ukraine

At least 25 people were injured, 15 of them in the city of Sumy near the Russian border, following overnight drone attacks launched by Moscow, local authorities said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched two missiles and 143 drones during the night; one missile and 116 drones were shot down.

In Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, at least 15 residents were injured, most of them elderly, said regional military administration head Oleh Hryhorov.

Rescue services released images showing teams evacuating residents overnight from damaged buildings. However, “due to the threat of further attacks, rescuers had to suspend their operations several times and seek shelter,” they added.

Three more people were injured in the Kharkiv Oblast and another three in the city of Sloviansk, according to local authorities.

In the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the governor reported that four people were injured in Russian air strikes.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 97 Ukrainian drones launched overnight toward Russian regions were intercepted.

Battlefield developments

Russia’s top general said during an inspection that Russian forces have captured 1,700 square kilometers of territory in Ukraine this year and are advancing toward the so-called fortified zone in Donbas.

Since the start of the 2022 invasion, Russia has aimed to seize the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been pushed out of several cities after prolonged fighting.

“Since the beginning of the year, a total of 80 settlements and more than 1,700 square kilometers of territory have come under our control,” said Valery Gerasimov in footage broadcast by the Defense Ministry.

Reuters was unable to independently verify battlefield reports, and Ukraine’s military command did not immediately comment. Pro-Ukrainian maps indicate Russia has captured about 592 square kilometers this year.

Gerasimov said Russia’s Southern Group of Forces is advancing in the Donetsk fortified zone, including the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Kostiantynivka, with Russian forces now 7–12 km from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Russian units are already fighting in parts of Kostiantynivka, he added. He also said Russian forces are advancing in the Sumy region and in Kharkiv to establish what he called a “security zone.”

Territorial control

According to Russian estimates, Russia controls about 90% of Donbas, roughly 75% of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Kherson Oblast, and parts of the Kharkiv Oblast, Sumy Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Russia also controls Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 following conflict. The peninsula is internationally recognized by most countries as part of Ukraine.

Pro-Ukrainian maps show Russia controls about 116,793 square kilometers, or 19.35% of Ukraine, though its advance has slowed this year.

Strike on Russian oil facilities

In a separate development, Ukrainian drones struck oil facilities in Russia’s Samara Oblast overnight, according to an official from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

The attack caused a fire and, according to preliminary data, damaged five oil storage tanks, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, the official said.