DST News: Overnight Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine killed four people and damaged residential buildings and energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. The dead included three people in Dnipro and one in the Kharkiv region, while at least 12 others were injured.
In Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, a drone hit a nine-story apartment block while many residents were asleep. The impact ignited a fire and destroyed several units, according to the State Emergency Service. Two children were among those injured as firefighters worked to rescue survivors trapped inside the building.
Local authorities said a worker at an energy company was also killed in the Kharkiv region when strikes targeted critical power sites.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 458 drones and 45 missiles in the latest wave, including 32 ballistic missiles. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted or neutralized 406 drones and nine missiles, but officials say at least 25 locations were struck.
The attacks forced emergency power shutoffs in several regions, Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said, as crews worked to contain damage to the already fragile electrical grid.
The strikes come as both Ukraine and Russia step up efforts to demonstrate military strength during intensified diplomatic maneuvering involving U.S. President Donald Trump, whom both sides are seeking to convince they can prevail on the battlefield.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its attacks were aimed at military and energy facilities that support Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials say Moscow is intentionally targeting heating and electricity networks in an attempt to “weaponize winter” by leaving civilians without heat or running water as temperatures fall.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has increased long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and energy hubs. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Kyiv is determined to block Russian oil exports to Europe, adding, “It is only a matter of time,” though he did not detail how such a move would be enforced.
Russia said it intercepted 82 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several over the Volgograd region. Officials there reported power outages but no casualties. In neighboring Saratov, two people were injured when debris shattered windows in an apartment building.
Heavy battles continue around Pokrovsk, a strategically important city along the eastern front in the Donetsk region. Russian officials claimed their forces have encircled Ukrainian defenders near Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad, as well as around Kupiansk, a key rail hub in Kharkiv.
Kyiv has not confirmed those claims.
Analysts say the fight for Pokrovsk could influence political calculations in Washington as discussions continue around military aid and pathways to possible negotiations.
Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency said the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, controlled by Russian forces, has been reconnected to the Ukrainian grid via a second transmission line. The plant has repeatedly lost external power during the war, at times relying on backup diesel generators to prevent overheating of reactors and spent fuel.
Although the facility is not currently producing energy, it still requires a stable electricity supply to maintain cooling and prevent potential accidents.
Source: AP
