A five-year-old boy and three other civilians were killed following a Russian drone strike on a residential area in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Local authorities confirmed on Friday that the attack occurred late Thursday night, resulting in the total destruction of two homes and leaving five others wounded, including three teenage girls and the child’s mother.
The Donetsk Prosecutor’s Office stated that the victims included a 32-year-old man, his young son, and two neighbors who were caught in the blast. The wounded are currently receiving treatment at local hospitals. This incident adds to the mounting civilian toll in Donetsk, a region that remains the epicenter of intense fighting despite Russia’s unilateral claim of sovereignty over the territory.
While Moscow continues to demand a full Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk as a precondition for any peace deal, Kyiv has consistently refused to yield its land. The region has been under de facto Russian influence through pro-Kremlin separatists for over a decade, turning it into a perpetual combat zone.