KYIV: Russia launched overnight attacks on Ukraine using drones and missiles, killing at least three people and damaging critical energy infrastructure in multiple regions, Ukrainian officials reported on Saturday. President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 450 drones and 45 missiles were deployed, targeting civilian and energy sites.
In the city of Dnipro, a drone strike on an apartment building killed two people and injured 12 others, while one person was killed in the Kharkiv region. Energy facilities in Kyiv, Poltava, and Kharkiv were damaged, prompting urgent repair efforts to restore electricity, heating, and water services. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the government was working closely with energy companies to ensure essential services are restored quickly.
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Zelensky called for stronger sanctions on Moscow, saying, “For every Moscow strike on energy infrastructure aimed at harming ordinary people before winter there must be a sanctions response targeting all Russian energy, with no exceptions.” The Ukrainian air force claimed it shot down 406 Russian drones and nine missiles, though 26 missiles and 52 drones still hit 25 sites.
Meanwhile, Russia reported ground gains in eastern Ukraine, capturing the small village of Vovche in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed progress in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region, as well as surrounding Ukrainian units in Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, amid intense house-to-house fighting.
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The attacks underscore the ongoing intensity of the conflict, with both sides claiming advances and targeting strategic infrastructure as winter approaches, highlighting the human and logistical toll of the war.