Russia blasts Ukraine with overnight aerial attacks

Russia battered parts of Ukraine in targeted overnight attacks in an intensified aerial campaign by Moscow, officials said on Friday, while doubts deepen over what Kyiv can expect from a new US administration. 

A 500-kilogram glide bomb severely damaged a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv in the middle of the night, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. 

At least 25 people, including an infant, were injured, he said. 

Glide bombs obliterate their targets, sending out a powerful shock wave and often leave a wide crater. Ukraine has no effective countermeasure for them. 

A Russian drone attack killed one person and injured nine others in the southern city of Odesa, said local official Oleh Kiper. 

In the capital Kyiv, falling wreckage from intercepted missiles injured four people, regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said.  

Russia fired a total of 92 drones and five missiles at Ukraine during the night, according to the Ukrainian air force. Four missiles and 62 drones were intercepted and 26 drones jammed electronically, it claimed. 

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said his country needs more help to fight back against Russia’s military might, even as uncertainty deepens about how much Western aid Ukraine can expect after Donald Trump was elected this week as the next US president. 

“It is important to act together and decisively at the international level every time Russia tries to destroy our lives,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “This is the only way to achieve a just peace and stop the deaths of our people.” 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began almost three years ago, Moscow’s military has repeatedly used its superior air power to blast civilian targets. 

More than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations. 

Across the border, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Saratov on Friday, military sources told Ukrainian media. 

Saratov’s governor Ruslan Busargin said a Ukrainian drone had targeted the city earlier that day. 

The city hosts the Saratov Oil refinery, run by Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. 

Overnight, a total of 17 Ukrainian drones were “destroyed and intercepted,” according to a report by the Russian Defence Ministry. Six drones were reportedly shot down over Saratov.