Twelve people, including five children, were killed in a drone strike targeting a holiday camp in the Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, local authorities installed by Russia reported on July 25. The attack occurred overnight in Kyrylivka, a resort area on the Sea of Azov coast near the town of Melitopol.

According to Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-appointed governor of the region, 19 people were injured in the strike. Rescue teams from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry recovered two survivors, including a child, and another body from the rubble. Balitsky stated that rescue operations had concluded and said the attack was a deliberate targeting of civilians.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukrainian forces of conducting the drone assault on sleeping civilians and condemned what she described as "inhuman crimes." She also referenced an unrelated attack on a factory in Russia’s Kirov region on July 23, which resulted in six fatalities.

A video circulating online showed extensive damage at the holiday camp, including destroyed buildings, burned vehicles, and debris near a swimming pool. Following the incident, Russia’s Investigative Committee initiated a terrorism probe.

Kyiv did not immediately comment on the incident. Both Russia and Ukraine have consistently denied intentionally striking civilian targets during the conflict that escalated following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Balitsky accused Ukrainian authorities of disregarding moral norms and deliberately targeting civilians, including children. The region remains under Russian control as hostilities continue in eastern Ukraine.