Four killed, several injured in Russian drone attacks
Ulf Mauder |
At least four people have been killed in Russian drone attacks overnight that included a hit on a maternity hospital in the Black Sea city of Odessa.
Two men died in the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the local military administration. Two people were also injured and an industrial plant sustained damage and fires.
One person died in a drone strike in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, while officials in Odessa reported the death of another person and injuries to 11 others following a Russian attack.
“The enemy has once again attacked the city’s civilian infrastructure,” said Serhiy Lysak, head of Odessa’s military administration.
In one district, the roof of a maternity clinic was hit, he wrote in a post on Telegram.
“Fortunately, the staff and patients were able to reach a shelter in time,” Lysak said. Two floors of a multi-storey residential building were also partially damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attacks, saying Odessa alone had been attacked by more than 60 drones.
“This makes no military sense whatsoever; it is pure terror against normal civilian life,” he said on Telegram, posting photos of the damage.
“Every such attack proves that Russia does not want to end the war. Therefore, any easing of the pressure on Russia is dangerous.”
The Ukrainian president added that he met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and they had agreed to co-operate in the field of security and defence.
“Our teams will finalise the details,” Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.
Meanwhile, officials in several parts of Russia reported renewed large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks. In the Yaroslavl region, a child was killed in a house, wrote Governor Mikhail Yevraev.
The parents were taken to hospital with serious injuries. A woman in the neighbouring house was also injured.
Ukrainian attacks also occurred in Chapayevsk in the southern Samara region, where, among other targets, a facility crucial for missile production was struck.
The Ministry of Defence in Moscow reported a total of 155 Ukrainian drone attacks that had been repelled, including in the Tver, Belgorod and Kursk regions.
As is usually the case in its daily military bulletins, the ministry provided no details regarding strikes, damage or casualties.
Ukraine in recent months ramped up its drone attacks inside Russia in response to the continuing full-scale invasion ordered by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
with Reuters
DPA