Late this evening, Russian assaults resulted in the deaths of two individuals in Zaporizhzhia, a southeastern city in Ukraine, along with three additional casualties in the northern and eastern parts of the country, according to official reports.
Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, communicated via the Telegram messaging app that the city experienced over 10 strikes, leading to two fatalities and eight injuries.
Images shared on social media depicted rescue teams navigating through debris, alongside apartment buildings and homes suffering extensive damage to their windows and facades.
In the Sumy region, located on Ukraine’s northern border with Russia, prosecutors reported that Russian forces launched a minimum of six guided bombs on the village of Krasnopillia, resulting in two deaths and injuring at least two others.
This week, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed during a phone conversation with US counterpart Donald Trump to implement a 30-day ceasefire concerning energy targets.
This agreement, however, did not extend to the broader ceasefire that the US had been seeking, which had been accepted by Ukraine. Discussions aimed at pursuing a ceasefire are scheduled for next week in Saudi Arabia, along with separate talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials.
Three injured, buildings damaged in Odessa
Russia unleashed one of its largest drone assaults on Ukraine’s Black Sea city of Odesa, resulting in injuries to three teenagers, damage to residential and commercial structures, and igniting fires throughout the city, as reported by officials.
This attack coincided with US efforts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, hoping to establish a partial ceasefire that would prevent strikes on energy infrastructure by both parties.
Czech President Petr Pavel, a staunch supporter of Kyiv and a key player in securing over one million artillery shells for Ukraine, was in the city for discussions with regional leaders shortly before the assault.
Afterward, Mr. Pavel met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and informed reporters that he had departed Odesa by train approximately 20 minutes before the explosions occurred. He remarked that the strikes illustrated the challenges of negotiating with Moscow.
“One must be truly cynical to declare a desire for peace negotiations or a ceasefire while simultaneously launching a significant attack on civilian infrastructure. Dealing with such a party is extremely difficult,” he stated.
The long-range drones approached the city in multiple waves, causing damage to infrastructure, residential properties, and commercial buildings, while also triggering several fires, according to officials.
Approximately 25 vehicles were set ablaze at a car repair shop.
A car showroom in a shopping mall destroyed following a Russian drone attack in Odesa
“We were powerless to react. We could only stand by and watch everything catch fire. I am completely in shock,” recounted the owner of the shop, who identified herself as Inna, in a conversation with Reuters.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko noted that Russia employed new strategies during the attack, with drones descending from a greater altitude than usual and at high speeds, complicating Ukraine’s air defense efforts.
He characterized it as one of the “most massive” assaults on Odesa since the onset of the Russian invasion in February 2022: “It was intimidation. A terror tactic against the civilian populace.”
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In a separate development, Russia and Ukraine accused one another of attacking a significant Russian gas pumping and measuring station situated in an area of Russia’s Kursk region that Moscow’s forces have largely regained from Ukraine this month.
Moscow claimed that Ukraine had detonated the facility in an act of terrorism, while Kyiv asserted that Russian forces had shelled it with artillery in a “provocation,” denying any involvement.
During separate discussions with US officials, both Russia and Ukraine expressed their willingness to enact a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure. Moscow, however, dismissed the prospect of a more extensive 30-day ceasefire.
Ukrainian, US, and Russian representatives are scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss further details, according to officials.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched a total of 214 drones at Ukraine overnight, without specifying how many targeted Odesa.
Out of the drones, 114 were shot down, with an additional 81 labeled as “lost” due to electronic warfare defenses being activated against them.
Ukraine has continued to leverage drone strikes on Russian targets, hitting oil infrastructure and a strategic bomber base in recent days.
