Over 3 killed, more than 30 injured as Russia, Ukraine trade overnight strikes

Burc Eruygur

At least three people were killed and more than 30 others injured as Russia and Ukraine traded overnight strikes, local authorities said Friday.

In Russia, Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Yevrayev claimed on Telegram that 67 drones were downed over his region as Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack.

“One person was killed in the attack. Ten people were injured when debris fell on an inter-municipal bus. Another 17 people also sustained injuries of varying severity,” Yevrayev said.

Stating that drone debris fell on industrial infrastructure, residential areas, and retail facilities in the region, Yevrayev added that fires that occurred as a result of the attack were being quickly extinguished.

Andrey Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said that a store belonging to food retailer Magnit in the town of Pavlovsky Posad was hit during a morning strike, which also damaged a nearby clinic.

Separately, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, said four people were injured following a drone strike on a five-story apartment building.

Ukraine’s General Staff claimed it struck the Yaroslavl refinery operated by Russian oil company Slavneft, causing a fire on the facility’s grounds. It said that the enterprise is involved in “supplying the needs of the Russian Armed Forces.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later claimed on US social media company X that his country’s Security Service also struck a Tu-95MS aircraft in the city of Engels in Russia’s Saratov region. Moscow has not commented on the claim.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses downed 512 Ukrainian drones over 18 regions, as well as over the Black Sea and Crimea.

Strikes in Ukraine

In Ukraine, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that one person was killed and two others were injured as Russian strikes targeted the region surrounding the capital.

“Under the attack of enemy drones are civilian objects: private and apartment buildings, warehouses, cars, and enterprises. Currently, 14 warehouses, 16 private households, three apartment buildings, 16 vehicles have been damaged in the region,” Tkachenko said.

Ukraine’s private postal and courier company Nova Poshta announced that its sorting centers in the Kyiv and Sumy regions came under attack overnight.

Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov said that one person was killed and seven others were injured following a strike by guided aerial bombs on the region’s administrative center.

Elsewhere, Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said that four people were injured as a Russian drone hit a hypermarket belonging to Epicentr, a Ukrainian retail and construction chain.

Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that the country’s air defenses shot down 137 out of 164 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that it struck a warehouse complex in the Kyiv region “used to store finished products of Flamingo long-range cruise missiles and fuel for rocket boosters.”

The ministry also claimed that six storage facilities in the port of Odesa “containing military equipment intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces” were hit.

Independent verification of either side’s claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.