At least 8 killed as Russia pounds Ukraine in fresh missile, drone strikes
At least eight people were killed and dozens injured after Russia launched a wave of ballistic missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks claimed four lives in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, while fatalities were also reported in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy, as cited by the BBC.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike on Kyiv as “one of the most massive ballistic attacks” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.Separately, Ukraine’s navy said late on Sunday that five people were killed after a Turkish-owned civilian cargo ship carrying grain was hit by Russian missiles in the Black Sea. Russia has not commented on the claim.Several areas in the Kyiv region were hit in the overnight attacks. The Ukrainian military said air defences in the capital intercepted 18 of the 41 missiles launched by Russia and also shot down 108 drones.Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a postal terminal on the city’s outskirts was struck, killing four men aged between 24 and 62. Several others were seriously injured.In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy said Russia had “used about 1,450 strike drones, more than 1,640 guided bombs and 99 missiles of various types against Ukraine” over the past week.Zelenskyy also claimed that Ukrainian forces had carried out strikes on Russian targets.In a post on Telegram, he said, “SBU [security service] units hit three oil depots in the Stavropol region simultaneously, while units of our Armed Forces struck another fuel-sector facility in the same region.”“Precise hits on three Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers were recorded in the Black Sea. I thank every one of our units that is helping to spread the realisation within Russia that this war must be brought to an end,” he added.Separately, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which transports Kazakhstan’s Caspian oil to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, said its terminal had been hit.The consortium said two tankers were damaged, forcing the suspension of oil loading operations. It added that there were no injuries or oil spills.Meanwhile, Ukraine said it had struck three Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea and three oil depots in the southern Stavropol region. Zelenskyy said the facilities were targets that “finance Russian aggression”.
