KYIV, Ukraine — A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern city of Kharkiv killed six people, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, as Ukraine reported a record number of bomb attacks in the southern Kherson region.

A further 17 people were wounded in the blast late Saturday, which is believed to have been caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on social media. All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

The Ukrainian-held front-line city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February last year.

In a statement, Nova Poshta said the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as an attack on an “ordinary civilian object.”

“We need to respond to Russian terror every day with results on the front line. And, even more so, we need to strengthen global unity in order to fight against this terror,” he wrote on social media.

“Russia will not be able to achieve anything through terror and murder. The end result for all terrorists is the same: the need to face responsibility for what they have done.”

Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were wounded in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, Syniehubov said.

Officials in southern Ukraine said Sunday the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the country’s Kherson region in the previous 24 hours.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South, said that 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes.

In a report released Saturday, the Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces could be diversifying the mix of missiles, guided bombs, and drones used in strikes on Ukraine. The Washington-based think tank speculated that the change could be part of an attempt to find gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses ahead of further strikes over the winter.

Ukrainian officials also reported Sunday that two people had been killed by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region. A 58-year-old man in the village of Kalinovka died in his home, while a 61-year-old man was killed in the town of Vasiukovka from a direct hit to his car, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office.

FOXBORO — The Patriots’ offense needed more Pop after a laborious start to the season. And rookie wide receiver Demario “Pop” Douglas came through in Sunday’s win over the Bills.

Douglas caught four passes on six targets for 54 yards, drew two penalties, carried the ball once for 20 yards and returned a punt for 25 yards. Returning from a concussion, the sixth-round pick finished second among Patriots wide receivers behind Kendrick Bourne with 24 routes run, per Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar.

Related Articles

What changed for Mac Jones in Patriots’ first game-winning drive in over two years

Mac Jones delivers signature win with 29-25 comeback victory over Bills

Patriots make another controversial QB change based on Week 7 inactives

Bill Belichick reportedly agreed to multi-year extension with Patriots before season

Sources project value for Patriots’ trade deadline candidates

“It’s a blessing just to show the world and then my teammates. I played for them today. I didn’t play for me. I played for my teammates,” Douglas said after the 29-25 win.

One reason Douglas played so much Sunday was because starting slot receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was inactive for the second straight week after suffering a concussion in Week 5.

“Pop’s [Demario Douglas]’s quick,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “You know, he got some separation on a few routes, made a couple tough catches. The seam pass was a good catch. He got held on the play action over route on the first drive, I think it was. Short yardage play.”

The Liberty product has a knack for making defenders miss. He’s the Patriots’ best receiver at getting open in man coverage and picking up yards after the catch.

“It just happens,” Douglas said. “I’d say it’s a little instinct. I play with confidence. I don’t want the first person to tackle me. So, it’s just a thing.”

He also was making difficult catches in Sunday’s game. He was robbed of a 6-yard catch at the end of the game when head coach Bill Belichick accepted a defensive pass interference penalty to save time on the clock on a play when Douglas fought through contact to make the catch.

“The ball come my way, I need to make that play,” Douglas said. “I’m trying to make it a (75)-25 ball, not no 50-50.”

Douglas has earned more snaps and has proven he’s one of the Patriots’ best playmakers. Smith-Schuster was a key offseason addition but has disappointed in the start to his Patriots career. Douglas is making it difficult for Smith-Schuster to take his starting role back, however.

Week after week it’s felt like the same old story. The Patriots start slow. The Patriots fall behind. The Patriots lose.

Yet on a Sunday that brought no shortage of twists and turns, the most unexpected may have been the way the game began.

The Patriots offense got off to its best start of the season, opening the game with two straight scoring drives to jump out to an early 10-0 lead over the heavily favored Buffalo Bills.

Rookie receiver Demario Douglas powered the quick start with three catches for 35 yards in the opening two drives, and thanks to the interception thrown by Josh Allen on his first pass attempt of the game, the Patriots had a two-score lead before the Bills even really got a chance to touch the ball.

New England tacked on a field goal in the second quarter as well and went into halftime leading 13-3. Considering what a slog it’s been for the Patriots offensively over the past few weeks, Sunday’s fast start was especially satisfying.

“Huge, awesome, it was great for that first series, a couple of explosive plays and staying ahead of the sticks, no negative plays,” said tight end Mike Gesicki. “It was what we’ve been talking about doing and finally went out there and did it.”

The early cushion proved essential after the Bills rallied for three second-half touchdowns, including two in the final six minutes to take a 25-22 lead with 1:58 to play. That set the stage for the big finish, with quarterback Mac Jones leading the Patriots down the field for the game-winning touchdown pass to Gesicki.

All told the Patriots compiled 364 total yards and averaged 6.6 yards per offensive play, the team’s highest average of the season.

“I think it was one of our most consistent offensive performances of the year, we had a couple of long drives last week and today we only punted a couple of times, it wasn’t very many, which is always a good thing,” Bill Belichick said afterwards. “(Bill O’Brien) did a good job all week with the gameplan and the team went in there and played with good competitive level, better fundamentals and better execution, so it’s a good place to start.”

What changed for Mac Jones in Patriots’ first game-winning drive in over two years

A case could be made this wasn’t just one of New England’s best performances this year, but in recent memory. Not only had the Patriots not gotten off to a hot start this season prior to Sunday, but they really didn’t all of last season either.

You could make a case for last year’s Week 17 win over Miami, when the Patriots took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Dolphins tied it 7-7 going into halftime and the game was neck-and-neck after that. Before that New England led Indianapolis 13-0 at halftime in Week 9 but didn’t score in the first quarter, and in Week 5 against Detroit the Patriots led 16-0 at halftime but only managed a field goal in the first.

The last no-doubter was all the way back in Week 17 of the 2021 season, when New England opened a 28-3 halftime lead on the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars in an eventual 50-10 win.

That New England was able to ambush a team like the Bills, a perennial playoff contender against whom the Patriots were 1-6 since 2020 coming in, was especially encouraging. Now the question is whether this was a one-off performance or the start of a major turnaround, and how the Patriots look next weekend against first-place Miami will tell us a lot about this team and its future prospects.

FOXBORO — It’s fair to wonder what exactly took so long for the Patriots to finally move Mike Onwenu to right tackle.

The switch seemingly shored up the Patriots’ offensive line against a team that head coach Bill Belichick deemed the “best pass rush in the league” earlier this week.

Related Articles

What changed for Mac Jones in Patriots’ first game-winning drive in over two years

Mac Jones delivers signature win with 29-25 comeback victory over Bills

Patriots make another controversial QB change based on Week 7 inactives

Bill Belichick reportedly agreed to multi-year extension with Patriots before season

Sources project value for Patriots’ trade deadline candidates

Quarterback Mac Jones had noticeably more time to throw in Sunday’s 29-25 comeback win over the Bills in which he was sacked just once and hit three additional times.

“The offensive line play today really stood out to me,” Jones said. “They made everything work, run game, passing game. I had a couple plays where I dropped my eyes, and that’s not on them, that’s on me.”

Jones played his best game of the season with the improved protection.

“It was just putting everything together,” rookie offensive lineman Sidy Sow said after the game. “And just playing downhill, physical. I feel like sometimes it takes a little while for offensive linemen, five guys to figure out how to play, but today I think we put it all together, and we had a good game.”

Onwenu, who started four games at right guard before being active in an emergency setting last week, was moved to right tackle, where he has thrived in the past but hadn’t played in a game since 2021. Sow started in place of Onwenu at right guard, and 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange returned from injury to play left guard. Trent Brown stayed at left tackle, and David Andrews started at center.

The Patriots have been hesitant to move Onwenu from right guard, in part because he missed most of the summer with an ankle injury. They felt it would be putting too much on his plate to move him to his second-best position as he returned from an injury. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Riley Reiff, who was seemingly signed in free agency to start at right tackle this offseason, was placed on injured reserve this week after playing just one game at guard. Calvin Anderson, also signed in free agency, was benched after two games. Vederian Lowe, who was acquired via trade before the season, struggled in his four starts at right tackle. Sow was moved back to his college position of guard, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr., also acquired via trade before the season, is also on injured reserve. The Patriots signed Conor McDermott back to the practice squad this week, but he wasn’t elevated before the game.

Belichick didn’t address why he moved Onwenu to right tackle, and he was noncommittal if he would stay on the edge.

“We’ll see,” Belichick said. “I’ll talk to Mike about it and see how it goes.”

Onwenu said after the game, “wherever I’m needed, I’m good.”

It’s clearly a collaborative decision between Onwenu and the team where he plays.

“Our first padded practice, I was asked if I felt comfortable enough,” Onwenu said. “I practiced it throughout the week, and they made the final decision.”