KYIV: Russia and Ukraine engaged in another deadly exchange of drone strikes overnight, with both sides reporting casualties. The attacks mark an escalation in the ongoing conflict, now in its fourth year.
Moscow has maintained nightly drone and missile assaults on Ukraine since its invasion in February 2022. Kyiv has responded with increasingly long-range strikes inside Russia, targeting border regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed calls for a ceasefire, intensifying military operations despite US President Donald Trump’s warning of additional weapons for Ukraine and stricter sanctions if peace talks fail.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed its air defences intercepted 122 drones overnight, primarily in border areas. In Belgorod, a woman died after an explosive device was dropped from a drone onto her home, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported. Three civilians were also killed the previous day.
In Voronezh, another border region, three teenagers were injured when falling drone debris hit a building, according to Governor Alexander Gusev.
Ukrainian officials confirmed one fatality in Dnipro after Russian drone strikes. Ukraine’s air force stated that 64 drones were launched, with 41 intercepted. The attack was smaller in scale compared to recent nights, where hundreds of drones were deployed.
Ukraine also reported three deaths and 27 injuries from a Russian airstrike on Dobropillia a day earlier. - AFP
