At least four people were killed and more than fifteen wounded when Russia launched a nighttime missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region. The strikes hit residential buildings, educational institutions, and infrastructure.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the overnight attack from Friday to Saturday affected several districts around the capital. Four people were killed and at least 15 wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. Although air defences intercepted numerous missiles and drones, falling debris and impacts still caused serious damage.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the main targets of the Russian strikes were energy facilities that ensure the country’s power supply. Kyiv therefore once again urged its Western partners to increase air defence support for Ukraine.
The attacks came a few days after the United States postponed Russian-Ukrainian peace talks scheduled for this week, citing the war in the Middle East. “Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post.
The Ukrainian president also expressed concern that a temporary easing of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil could provide Moscow with new revenue to finance its war effort.
Early Saturday morning, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery and a port in Russia’s Krasnodar region, local Russian officials reported. Three people were injured in the attack at the port of Kavkaz, located across from Crimea, which handles liquefied natural gas and grain shipments.
