Russia unleashed a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, killing three people, injuring dozens more, and damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday.
Despite diplomatic efforts to find ways to end the war that began when Russia invaded in February 2022, the fighting has intensified in recent months.
In a statement on the Telegram app, Zelenskiy said Russia had launched around 580 drones and 40 missiles targeting infrastructure, civilian manufacturing companies and residential areas in different parts of the country.
Air defences shot down 552 of the drones and 31 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said.
RUSSIA IS ‘TERRORISING’ CIVILIANS, SAYS ZELENSKIY
“All night, Ukraine was under a massive attack by Russia,” Zelenskiy said. “Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorise civilians and destroy our infrastructure.”
Russia denies targeting Ukrainian civilians.
In the central city of Dnipro, a missile with a cluster munition hit a residential apartment building, Zelenskiy said.
One person was killed, and at least 26 people were injured in Dnipro, regional officials said.
Two people were also killed in the Chernihiv region in the north and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, regional officials said.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
“It should not be happening in the 21st century. We are all people. Agree… sit down at the negotiating table.”
Kyiv faces increasing pressure in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are keeping up their grinding advance, devastating villages and towns and claiming new territory.
