SRINAGAR: At least seven people were killed and dozens injured as Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight drone and missile strikes, with casualties reported in both countries, according to local authorities, as reported by Firstpost.
In Russia’s border Belgorod region, Ukrainian drone attacks killed five people and injured around two dozen others, including a four-year-old boy, according to the regional administration. The attacks also damaged 29 apartment blocks, five private houses, administrative buildings and commercial facilities, authorities said.
In Ukraine, Russian missile strikes on the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two people and injured 13, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said. A high-rise residential building in the city’s Saltivskyi district was among the sites hit.
A further eight people were injured in Odesa after the southern port city and surrounding region came under an overnight attack involving missiles and drones, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian strikes also damaged infrastructure at the port of Odesa. The port is a key outlet for Ukraine’s agricultural exports, and Zelensky warned that attacks on such facilities could have wider implications for food security. Reuters reported that the Odesa area was hit by dozens of missiles and drones.
Ukraine’s authorities also reported damage to energy infrastructure in the Odesa region following the Russian strikes, with power and other essential services affected.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its overnight strikes targeted Ukrainian military-related facilities, including drone warehouses in the Kharkiv region and fuel and materiel storage facilities at the port of Odesa. The ministry also claimed that Russian air defences had intercepted 153 Ukrainian drones during the night, including over Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Ukraine has continued carrying out long-range drone attacks against targets inside Russia, including energy infrastructure, while Russia has maintained sustained missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
The latest exchange comes amid an intensification of aerial attacks, with civilian areas continuing to report casualties and damage. Both Moscow and Kyiv maintain that their strikes are directed at military or strategically important targets, while authorities on each side have repeatedly reported damage to civilian infrastructure.
The fighting has also raised concerns over the conflict’s impact beyond the two countries. Recent incidents involving drones near neighbouring states have prompted additional security concerns, although authorities have not attributed every such incident to a deliberate cross-border attack.
The latest strikes came as international calls for an end to the war continued. Pope Leo, speaking during his Sunday Angelus, renewed his appeal for peace and expressed concern over the continuing civilian toll of the conflict.
