Overnight Strikes Kill Seven as Russia and Ukraine Trade Fire
Cross-border attacks overnight killed seven and wounded dozens across Russia and Ukraine, officials said.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged heavy overnight strikes, leaving at least seven people dead and dozens wounded on both sides, according to local officials.
In Russia's Belgorod region, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured about two dozen others, including a four-year-old boy. Regional authorities reported damage to 29 apartment blocks, five private houses, and several administrative and commercial buildings.
Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv came under Russian missile fire, with a high-rise residential building in the Saltivskyi district hit directly. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two people were killed and 13 injured in that attack.
Further south, the Black Sea port of Odesa and its surrounding region were targeted by what local officials described as dozens of missiles and drones. Eight people were injured there, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.
Russia's defense ministry said its forces struck Ukrainian drone warehouses in the Kharkiv region and fuel depots near Odesa. It also claimed to have shot down 153 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas.
The exchanges come as large-scale Russian missile barrages against Ukrainian cities have become increasingly frequent. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Patriot air-defense systems, which are the only weapons in Kyiv's arsenal capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. He has also proposed producing Patriot ammunition domestically or using Starlink satellite guidance for strikes on Russian launchers.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has continued long-range drone operations against Russian energy infrastructure and other targets deep inside the country, contributing to fuel supply pressures in Russia.