Civilians have also endured hardship caused by Russian attacks on the power grid that have denied them heating and running water. Many have been evacuated from areas along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where Ukrainian defenses are straining to hold the bigger Russian army at bay.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it "a terrible tragedy, a terrible Russian crime" after the explosion in the city of Sumy.