A large Russian drone-and-missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least 3 people and wounded 21 others, local officials reported. The barrage, part of a recent intensification of Russian strikes, included aerial glide bombs that have become a hallmark of Russia’s fierce onslaught in the ongoing war.
Ukraine’s air force stated that Russia launched 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defenses successfully shot down and neutralized 87 drones and 7 missiles. Several other areas in Ukraine were also impacted, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Sybiha stressed that “To put an end to Russia’s killing and destruction, more pressure on Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine.“
The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday confirmed that its forces carried out a nighttime strike on Ukrainian military targets, including ammunition depots, drone assembly workshops, and weaponry repair stations, but made no comment on the casualties in Kharkiv.
Kharkiv’s Mayor, Ihor Terekhov, described it as “the most powerful attack” on the city since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Kharkiv’s regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, specified that two districts were hit with three missiles, five aerial glide bombs, and 48 drones. Among the wounded were two children, a baby boy and a 14-year-old girl.
Elsewhere, Russian shelling also killed a couple in their 50s in the southern city of Kherson, and two women were wounded in the Dnipropetrovsk province. Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces shot down 36 Ukrainian drones overnight over its south and west, with drone debris wounding two civilians in the suburbs of Moscow.
These intense Russian attacks have further dimmed hopes for a swift peace deal, especially following Ukraine’s recent drone attack on Russian military airfields. Despite two rounds of direct peace talks, significant breakthroughs remain elusive, as both sides hold firm on their terms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered a 30-day ceasefire and a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce. U.S. President Donald Trump recently indicated that Putin told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s attack, adding that it might be “better to let Ukraine and Russia ‘fight for a while’” before pursuing peace, a remark that signals a potential shift in his previously stated appeals to end the war.
