A one-year-old in a stroller was killed in a Russian drone attack on a park in northeastern Kharkiv on Monday, October 19. Families with children had gathered in the park expecting outdoor fun, but several lost their lives and others were wounded in the strike.
Deadly Attack on Kharkiv Park
Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least 15 others were wounded in the attack, including seven children. Ukrainian official Ivan Vyhivskyi wrote on Telegram: "Unfortunately, two women and an infant who was in a stroller were killed."
The strike comes after a sharp rise in civilian casualties in Ukraine in September compared with the same month a year earlier.
Trump's Remarks on Russia
Despite the recent attack, US President Donald Trump claimed that Russia had not been "doing much" in Ukraine. "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," he told reporters.
Trump said he has been working to negotiate a peace deal between the two countries, which have been at war for more than four years, but claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was standing in the way.
Rising Civilian Toll
UN human rights monitors warned that Russia's intensifying attacks had driven civilian casualties to some of the highest levels since the war broke out in February 2022. In Kyiv alone, civilians were killed or injured on 22 of September's 30 days, according to the UN, marking the highest frequency recorded in any month since the invasion.
At least 328 civilians were killed and another 2,105 injured in September, an 85% increase in casualties over the same month last year, according to reports. The latest verified civilian toll for the first nine months of 2026 stands at 2,570 dead and 15,211 wounded, a 59% increase in total casualties over 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.
