Putin aide claims Russian skies remain safe despite drone attacks

Overnight, Russian attacks in Ukraine killed at least five people and injured 67, according to local authorities. Drones reached western regions, including Khmelnytskyi and Vinnytsia oblasts. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported damage in 13 oblasts and warned that Russian attacks showed no signs of slowing down. Stronger response and countermeasures were needed, particularly in air defense systems to combat jet-powered drones.

In western Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Russian drones struck twice overnight. Drone debris ignited a truck and damaged a warehouse in Khmelnytskyi city. Another attack set a warehouse ablaze. In Vinnytsia Oblast, two women were injured after debris likely fell from a drone. Residential buildings and surrounding properties sustained damage in the regional capital.

Odesa Oblast reported the highest number of injuries, with 17 people hurt, including three children, in a Russian attack. Twenty apartments on upper floors and 12 nearby cars were damaged. Across Ukraine, Russia launched 163 Shahed-type drones and other aerial targets overnight, with around half being jet-powered. Air defenses intercepted 135 drones, while strikes were recorded at 15 locations and debris fell at four others.

Governor Oleksandr Hanzha of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast reported four deaths and 13 injuries after Russian forces targeted six districts with drones, artillery, and a glide bomb. In Kherson Oblast, one person died and 16 were injured in Russian attacks, damaging three apartment buildings, six houses, an administrative building, a humanitarian aid distribution point, agricultural machinery, and vehicles.

Sumy Oblast saw eight civilians injured in nearly 40 attacks against 24 settlements. Donetsk Oblast recorded six injuries in 37 attacks across the region. Kharkiv Oblast reported two injuries following a missile attack and attacks using Molniya, FPV drones, and dozens of other UAVs. Zaporizhzhia Oblast had one injury in an attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia. Overall, Russia launched 957 strikes against 52 settlements across the oblast.