Russia and Ukraine reported extensive overnight attacks on Thursday, with Ukrainian drones damaging energy infrastructure inside Russia while Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Odesa and several other Ukrainian regions.
In Russia’s Yaroslavl region, Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said air defences intercepted 65 drones. An oil refinery in Yaroslavl was damaged and caught fire, while falling debris shattered windows in apartment buildings and damaged vehicles. No casualties were reported.
Further south, drone debris struck a transformer substation in Rostov-on-Don, disrupting electricity supplies across four districts, according to Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar. Six private homes and several outbuildings were also damaged, but authorities reported no casualties.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin separately said six drones approaching the Russian capital had been intercepted.
Ukraine, meanwhile, reported widespread damage from Russian attacks. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy facilities in the Sumy and Odesa regions were struck, while civilian infrastructure sustained damage across eight regions.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residential and other buildings were damaged in several districts. Eighteen people were injured, nine of whom were hospitalised.
Authorities in Odesa also reported casualties and damage to a 19-storey residential building, with apartments between the 14th and 16th floors affected.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed carrying out overnight strikes in the Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions. Moscow said its targets included drone-production facilities, a data centre and an energy-storage facility in Brovary, as well as the Zaporizhstal steel plant and Iskra radio-electronics plant in Zaporizhzhia region.
The ministry also claimed it struck an electricity substation in Artsyz, Odesa region, two cargo vessels it said were transporting military supplies, and two bridges over the Dniester River near Mayaky allegedly used to move military cargo from Romania and the port of Izmail.
The claims made by both sides about specific military targets and damage could not be independently verified from the information provided.
Zelenskyy linked the latest attacks to efforts to increase economic pressure on Moscow, noting that the US House of Representatives had passed legislation targeting Russia and Iran with sanctions.
“It is symbolic that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on the night of yet another Russian attack on Ukraine with ballistic and other missiles and drones,” Zelenskyy said on X.
He called for stronger sanctions against Russia, arguing that increased pressure was necessary to support diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Europe and other partners to bring the war to an end.