At least nine people have been killed and 23 injured, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on Russia, according to Russian officials, while Ukrainian authorities reported at least four deaths in Russian attacks.
Eight people were killed in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, while a woman died in a drone strike in the southern Astrakhan region.
In Ukraine, two people were killed in Russian attacks on the Donetsk region and another two died in overnight drone strikes in Sumy. Four people were also injured when a civilian vessel was damaged in an attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa.
The latest casualties followed what Russia described as Ukraine’s largest drone attack of the year on Saturday night. Russian authorities said at least seven people were killed, including five in Rostov region, while attacks also struck areas around Moscow and Belgorod.
Ukraine has intensified long range drone strikes inside Russia in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials said about 822 drones were launched towards Russia on Saturday night, with hundreds targeting the Moscow region.
Ukraine has defended attacks on Russian logistics and industrial facilities, arguing that some are connected to Russia’s war effort. Moscow, meanwhile, has continued missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.
Ukraine’s energy company Naftogaz said Russian forces attacked its facilities 13 times over the past week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 1,550 drones, nearly 1,560 guided bombs and 62 missiles against Ukraine during the same period.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians and accuse each other of causing civilian deaths during the ongoing war, which began with Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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