Russian attacks kill seven in Ukraine, officials say

Ron Popeski, Oleksandr Kozhukhar and Dan Peleschuk |

Moscow and Kyiv are accusing each other of blowing up a gas pumping station in Russia’s Sudzha.
Moscow and Kyiv are accusing each other of blowing up a gas pumping station in Russia’s Sudzha.

Russian attacks has killed a family of three in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and four more people in the country’s north and east, officials say.

Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on social media the city had been struck more than 10 times, with a 14-year-old girl and her parents killed in the attacks and 12 people wounded, including an infant.

At the scene late on Friday, rescue teams sifted through piles of debris amid the din of a buzz saw, and could be seen carrying away at least one body.

Police carry a body after a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia
Rescue teams sifted through debris in Zaporizhzhia after a Russian drone strike. (AP PHOTO)

“Russian terrorism continues to destroy families all over Ukraine,” First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X on Saturday in response to the attack.

Prosecutors in the northeastern Sumy region said late on Friday that Russian forces dropped at least six guided bombs on the village of Krasnopillia, killing two people and injuring at least two.

In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the focal point of Russian forces’ steady westward advance, two people were killed and nine wounded in Russian attacks on Friday, according to governor Vadym Filashkin.

In the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, acting regional governor Yuri Slyusar said a Ukrainian drone struck the 17th floor of an apartment building, injuring two people. Air defences destroyed a number of drones, Slyusar wrote on Telegram.

In Voronezh, another southern Russian region near Ukraine, Governor Alexander Gusev said more than 10 Ukrainian drones were destroyed. No damage or casualties were reported.

Rubble after a Russian drone strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of compromising peace efforts as air attacks continue. (AP PHOTO)

Reuters could not independently verify reports from either side.

The Kremlin said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in a call with his US counterpart Donald Trump to observe a 30-day ceasefire on energy targets.

That accord fell short of a wider agreement that Washington had sought, and which was accepted by Ukraine, for a blanket 30-day ceasefire.

Both sides have traded accusations in recent days of compromising peace efforts as air attacks have continued.

Talks on implementing a ceasefire are scheduled for next week in Saudi Arabia and, separately, with Russian and Ukrainian officials.

Reuters