Russia, Ukraine trade overnight strikes killing 3, injuring over 30

Russia and Ukraine on Thursday traded accusations concerning overnight airstrikes that at least three people and injured over 30 others in both countries.

In Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said a total of eight people were injured after overnight strikes that damaged apartment buildings and local infrastructure in the city of Kryvyi Rih and the region’s Nikopol district.

Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov said two people were killed and 20 others injured after a Russian strike hit a shopping mall in the northeastern region’s capital.

“Two men and a woman are in serious condition. Another woman is in critical condition. Among the injured are three girls aged 15-16. Their injuries range from minor to moderate. Doctors are providing all necessary care,” Hryhorov said.

In the Kyiv region, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said three people were injured in Russian attacks over the past day, with the most significant damage being recorded in the Fastiv and Bucha districts.

In total, 32 properties were damaged across the region,” Tkachenko said, noting this included two industrial or warehouse facilities.

Meanwhile, acting Mykolaiv Governor Heorhii Reshetilov said four people were killed and 19 others injured in Russian strikes targeting port, industrial, and civilian infrastructure in the regional capital.

Ukraine’s Air Force claimed air defenses shot down 128 out of 149 drones launched by Russia overnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that it launched group strikes against a drone warehouse in the city of Mykolaiv, as well as infrastructure facilities at the customs terminal distribution center in the port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region.

The ministry said the infrastructure was being used “for the benefit” of the Ukrainian military, and that it hit two dry-cargo vessels and a tugboat escorting them while en route to the port of Odesa.

Strikes in Russia

The ministry also claimed that air defenses downed 448 Ukrainian drones overnight over 13 regions, as well as over the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

In the border region of Voronezh, Governor Aleksandr Gusev said one person was killed and two others injured after a drone fell on a private home in the town of Borisoglebsk.

“In total, air defense forces detected and destroyed 19 unmanned aerial vehicles over six districts and one urban district of the Voronezh region,” Gusev said.

Meanwhile, Krasnodar Krai's Operational Headquarters said late Wednesday that eight people were injured in a drone strike on an embankment in the resort city of Sochi.

Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on the attacks, though both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly targeted each other’s logistics centers, as well as port and energy infrastructure, in recent months.

Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, maintaining their strikes are directed at military targets or facilities linked to military activities.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dmitry Artyukhov, head of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, said a drone attack resulted in a fire at an unspecified industrial facility in the city of Novy Urengoy, resulting in no casualties.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) claimed hitting two gas condensate processing facilities in the western Siberian region, marking its deepest strike inside Russia, with the SSO claiming its drones traveled over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles).

Independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.