Russia and Ukraine trade overnight strikes, killing at least seven civilians
Missile and drone attacks by Russia and Ukraine overnight resulted in seven civilian deaths and dozens of injuries across multiple regions, officials said.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged missile and drone strikes overnight, causing civilian casualties on both sides, local authorities reported. In Russia's Belgorod region, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured about two dozen, including a 4-year-old boy, regional officials said. In Ukraine, Russian missiles hit a high-rise apartment block in Kharkiv’s Saltivskyi district, killing two and wounding 13, while a barrage of missiles and drones struck Odesa, injuring eight more residents, according to regional heads. The Russian defence ministry said its forces shot down 153 Ukrainian drones that night, including over occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, and claimed to have hit drone warehouses in Kharkiv region and fuel depots in Odesa. Ukrainian officials said Kyiv continues long-range drone attacks on Russian energy sites and commercial targets, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies to supply additional Patriot air-defence systems, which he says are needed to protect civilians. Separately, a combat-drone explosion was reported near the village of Crocmaz in Moldova, causing a vegetation fire but no injuries. Bulgarian authorities also summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after a drone, identified as a type used by Ukrainian forces, exploded near a gas pipeline on Bulgarian territory; both countries said the incident appeared accidental and were investigating.
"We are in close contact to clarify what happened," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said. The incidents highlight the expanding geographic reach of the conflict and the ongoing risk to civilian populations.