A blast echoed across Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of today, a witness said, as a new wave of strikes and drone incidents underscored the widening reach of the war.
Russia struck at least six energy targets during airstrikes across Ukraine yesterday. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, three bodies were pulled from the rubble after yesterday’s attack, Mayor Ihor Terehov said in a Telegram post today.
The latest barrage also hit Ukraine’s south: Russian drones damaged a cargo terminal in the port city of Mykolaiv in overnight attacks, Acting Regional Governor Heorhii Reshetilov said on Telegram.
Three people killed, 16 wounded in Russia
Across the border, Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region killed three people and wounded 16, the local governor said, in a reminder that areas close to the frontier remain exposed to cross-border fire.
Alexander Shuvaev, the Belgorod region’s governor, said two people died in an overnight strike, while another man died after an attack that took place on Friday.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
In another incident inside Russia, falling drone debris damaged an industrial area in Nevinnomyssk in the southern Stavropol region, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram today, without giving further details.
Nevinnomyssk is a major chemical production area, among other industrial facilities.
Two ships hit by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast
Further afield on the Black Sea, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said two ships were struck by drones off Bulgaria’s coast and one of them sank, marking the second such incident in a week.
Radev said the Ukrainian-owned ‘Chelsea 3’, sailing under a Maltese flag, was hit by three drones and suffered damage about 18 nautical miles off the Bulgaria coast in the early hours of the morning.
The crew — seven Ukrainians and eight Azerbaijanis — were rescued. Five crew members needed medical assistance, but no one was seriously injured.
Radev said one crew member from the ship that sank had also been rescued.
“This is absolutely unacceptable – another attack in the immediate vicinity of Bulgarian territorial waters,” Radev said in a televised address.
“I am due to speak with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.”
Radev said there was no clear evidence identifying who carried out the attack, but argued that “the outcome benefits the Russian Federation,” adding that he would summon the Russian ambassador over the incident.
Bulgaria does not border either Ukraine or Russia, but as a NATO member it occupies a strategic Black Sea position near major ports used by both countries. Concerns have been rising over hybrid attacks involving drones as Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
