Russian attacks kill 3 across Ukraine, strikes Kyiv for second consecutive night

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three people were killed across Ukraine on Wednesday in overnight Russian attacks, including one in Kyiv, where powerful explosions hit for the second night in a row.

Several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, before authorities issued an air raid alert. It was an unusual sequence of events because warnings typically precede strikes, giving civilians time to find shelter.

In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Ukraine’s Air Force says Russia fired 169 long-range strike drones and seven missiles, including five ballistics, at the country last night. Air defenses shot down or jammed 139 drones, and two anti-radar missiles didn’t reach their targets. All five ballistic missiles and 20 drones struck targets at 15 locations, the Air Force said, underscoring the continued strain on Ukraine’s air defenses.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the military carried out a strike on arms industry facilities in Kyiv overnight, hitting a plant that was manufacturing components for Flamingo cruise missiles and a facility assembling mid- and long-range drones.

The ministry also said air defenses downed 415 Ukrainian drones from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. Saratov Gov. Roman Busargin said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person, injured several others and damaged unspecified industrial facilities.

Nizhhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyayev said Ukrainian drones damaged industrial facilities in the city and injured several people. Belyayev didn’t name the facilities that were damaged.

Yuri Slyusar, the governor of the Rostov region, said that Ukrainian drones hit and damaged two oil tankers in Taganrog Bay, injuring two crew members. The crew of one of the ships had to be evacuated.

Slyusar said that there was no oil spill as the oil tankers heading to the port of Rostov-on-Don were empty.

In Ukraine, the Russian attacks killed one woman and injured two others in Kyiv, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the Russian attack on Kyiv damaged several administrative buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several city trams.

In Zaporizhzhia, Russian guided bomb injured elderly man and a woman last night, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Rescue teams in the southern Indian state of Kerala raced to find five people still missing a day after heavy monsoon rains caused a deadly landslide, officials said.

The landslide killed at least three people working near a tunnel construction site in Wayanad district, a hill region known for its lush forests and rolling green landscapes.

Seven workers were also injured and are undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Authorities divided the area into zones as rescue crews, including disaster response teams and sniffer dogs, searched the region for missing despite heavy rain hampering operations, Devamanohar, a local police official, told reporters.

A video clip showed a huge mound of mud giving way in heavy rain, uprooting trees and sweeping away metal and fabric barricades around the tunnel construction site.

Kerala’s agriculture minister T. Siddique, who represents the area in the state legislature, told reporters it was "not a natural landslide but a man-made one caused by the unscientific dumping of earth” in comments carried by the Press Trust of India news agency. He alleged that construction debris was not cleared despite official warnings.

The construction company has denied responsibility, saying the landslide originated far above the work site, the news agency said.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Last year, cloudbursts, floods and landslides caused significant loss of life and property across India.

Experts say human-caused climate change is intensifying South Asia’s monsoons, which traditionally run from June to September and again from October to December. The rains, once predictable, now arrive in erratic bursts that dump extreme amounts of water in short periods, followed by dry spells.

Meanwhile, heavy monsoon rains battered parts of western and northern India, triggering floods and landslides. Rains have also swept across New Delhi and other northern states, bringing relief from the heat but leaving several areas waterlogged.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavier rainfall across northern India over the next three days.

This story has been updated to correct that T. Siddique is Kerala's agriculture, not home, minister.

This photograph released by the Kerala Public Relations department shows rescue operations after a landslide near Meppadi tunnel project in Wayanad, in the southern state of Kerala, India, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Kerala Public Relations department via AP)

This photograph released by the Kerala Public Relations department shows rescue operations after a landslide near Meppadi tunnel project in Wayanad, in the southern state of Kerala, India, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Kerala Public Relations department via AP)