Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine killed at least seven people overnight, including five in the city of Dnipro, Ukrainian local authorities have reported. The attacks, described as the largest in several days, also targeted Odesa and Kharkiv, leaving at least 34 people injured.
Dnipro Under Fire
The strikes lasted "practically all night," according to Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha. Rescuers recovered four bodies from the ruins of a destroyed house, with search operations continuing into Saturday morning. "The Russians have been hitting Dnipro and other cities and communities practically all night," Hanzha wrote on Telegram. Fires broke out across the city, partially destroying several apartment blocks, businesses, and a private home. Another person was killed in a subsequent strike on the same residential area Saturday afternoon.
Other Regions Targeted
In Odesa and Kharkiv, drone attacks injured at least three people, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian forces repelled most of the more than 600 Russian drones, marking one of the largest aerial assaults in recent days. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on social media: "The Russians’ tactics have not changed: strike drones, cruise missiles and a significant amount of ballistics. Most of the targets are ordinary infrastructure in cities. Residential buildings, energy, and enterprises have been damaged."
Ukrainian Counterstrikes
Ukraine conducted some of its longest-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. In the border region of Belgorod, a woman was killed and a man seriously injured by a Ukrainian drone strike.
Context of Attacks
The overnight onslaught followed a prisoner swap on Friday, where Russia and Ukraine exchanged 193 service members each. Periodic prisoner exchanges have been a condition of US-brokered negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, though talks have yielded no progress on key issues to end Russia's invasion.
