KYIV, Ukraine: At least 12 people were killed overnight into Sunday as Russia and Ukraine exchanged waves of drone and missile attacks, striking areas on both sides of the front, officials said.
The latest strikes came as fighting along the front line remained largely stalled and peace talks were frozen. Both sides have intensified long-range attacks deep behind enemy lines, increasingly targeting infrastructure and facilities linked to the war.
In Russia, Ukrainian drones killed five people in the southern Rostov region, regional Governor Yuri Slyusar said. Two more people were killed in the Belgorod and Moscow regions, Russian officials said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted 822 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight.
Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as “one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory”.
In Ukraine, Russian drones and missiles killed at least two people and wounded 14 at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown.
The plant, one of Ukraine’s largest steel producers, said it had partially suspended operations after the attack damaged core production facilities.
Strikes also killed two people in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and one in the Sumy region, according to Ukrainian officials.
In Kyiv, Russian strikes damaged the Pochayna outdoor book market, a popular destination for rare and antiquarian books.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air-raid sirens sounded four times overnight as the capital came under attack. At least six people were reportedly injured.
Russia, Ukraine intensify attacks
Russia said its strikes on Kyiv had targeted a FirePoint facility producing parts for Ukrainian Flamingo missiles and a factory manufacturing components for drones.
Zelenskyy said 13 Ukrainian regions had come under attack during the week.
“Wherever the Russians can reach with their ballistic missiles, they strike civilian infrastructure,” he said in a social media post.
He said Russian forces had launched more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles against Ukrainian targets over the past week.
Zelenskyy again urged Ukraine’s allies to provide additional air-defence systems.
A warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, was set ablaze by Ukrainian drones near Moscow, according to Russian officials.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a Wildberries warehouse in Koledino, about 25 kilometres from central Moscow, was hit and three people were injured.
Wildberries facilities have been repeatedly targeted since July. Kyiv has said it is targeting logistics hubs used to obtain military equipment and disrupt supplies to the Russian military.
Zelenskyy has said attacks on such facilities, as well as Russian oil refineries, are intended to weaken Moscow’s war economy.
