Russia pounds Ukrainian cities in overnight missile and drone barrage

Russia launched a sweeping overnight assault on Ukrainian infrastructure, targeting ports, grain storage, energy facilities, industrial sites and retail distribution centres across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the barrage as a "massive strike" involving ballistic and hypersonic missiles as well as combat drones. The Ukrainian military said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles — an improved performance after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted this week that Kyiv had received a fresh batch of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors, which are among the few systems capable of stopping such fast-moving projectiles.

In the capital, Kyiv, air defences boomed through the morning as waves of drones streaked across neighbourhoods. Debris from intercepted weapons wounded four people. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a lunchtime strike on a shopping centre killed one person and injured two, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.

The attacks also disrupted civilian logistics. A distribution centre for major Ukrainian retailer COMFY was hit in the Kyiv area, and a warehouse belonging to a leading toy company was destroyed, their chief executives said. Chocolate maker Roshen, founded by former President Petro Poroshenko, reported that one of its warehouses outside Kyiv was destroyed. Train services were delayed across several regions, stranding passengers for extended periods.

Russian strikes also damaged industrial facilities and energy infrastructure in the central Poltava region, the southern Odesa region and the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih. Moscow's defence ministry said it had hit steelworks in Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia, an oil refinery in Poltava, logistics centres around Kyiv and three ports in the Odesa region.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, said it also came under fire overnight. A drone attack temporarily shut a logistics complex run by online retailer Ozon in the city of Ufa. Ukraine has targeted several Ozon and Wildberries facilities since Saturday, saying the e-commerce giants are part of the infrastructure supporting Russia's war effort.

Meanwhile, six Russian drones entered the airspace of neighbouring Moldova, authorities there said, prompting President Maia Sandu to condemn the "intimidation." One drone was found on Moldovan territory.

Moscow also warned on Thursday that it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil using British-supplied weapons. Britain has pledged to give Kyiv access to classified technology to begin domestic production of Storm Shadow cruise missiles.