1 killed, 5 injured in overnight strikes between Ukraine and Russia

Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight strikes on Friday, with at least one person killed and five others injured, according to officials from both sides.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian drone struck a residential high-rise building in Kyiv, killing one person.

A Russian attack also targeted the Pivdennyi Bridge in Kyiv, prompting authorities to close it to traffic in both directions, the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

Zelenskyy said Moscow attacked a kindergarten in the city of Kherson as well as a grocery store in Kharkiv and damaged an institute and critical infrastructure.

He said strikes also hit apartment buildings in the cities of Kramatorsk and Sumy, while the Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Rivne regions also came under attack.

“As of now, four people have been reported injured in the overnight Russian attack,” he said.

Zelenskyy alleges Moscow still uses foreign parts for its weapons

Moscow’s ability to escalate its attacks remains critically dependent on foreign components, “no matter how hard Moscow tries to fully localize the production of its drones and missiles,” Zelenskyy said.

"These are supply chains running from Europe, the United States, China, Japan, and many other countries," he wrote on US social media platform X. “Most of these companies are well-known manufacturers, but their components still make their way to Russia”

Zelenskyy said "every Russian drone" could be stopped at the production stage, urging stronger sanctions on Moscow.

“What is needed is the political will of these countries. If the Kremlin has chosen more strikes, sanctions must work and must be strengthened,” he said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces continued to strike Ukrainian port and energy infrastructure, as well as maritime vessels allegedly used by the Ukrainian armed forces.

It said targets included a combined road and rail bridge across the Dnieper River in Kyiv "facilitating the movement of troops and the logistical delivery of military supplies" to support Ukraine's troops in the eastern province of Donbas, an electrical substation near Nalyvaikivka, Kyiv "serving the transmission and distribution of power to military-industrial facilities," and an industrial complex at the port of Izmail, Odesa “used to receive, store and transport military cargo and fuel.”

The ministry also said a cargo ship was struck in the Black Sea, alleging it was carrying military equipment and dual-use cargo to Odesa for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 108 attack drones overnight, with 88 shot down or suppressed.

Strikes on Russia

In Russia, meanwhile, Ukrainian drones targeted industrial infrastructure in the Volgograd region, causing a fire at an apartment building, regional Gov. Andrey Bocharov said. One person was hospitalized and the fire was contained, he said.

Zelenskyy confirmed the attack on Volgograd, as well as on the Samara region, stressing that oil facilities were among the targets hit in the past 24 hours.

"We are giving justified responses to Russia’s escalation with our own long-range sanctions. Important results are achieved practically every day,” he said.

He said “successful operations” were carried out in the Black Sea and in Russia’s Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Samara, and Krasnodar regions, targeting airfields, industrial facilities, oil refineries, a missile and space center, and an ammunition depot belonging to Russia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted or destroyed 646 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over several Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Independent verification of the claims from both sides remains difficult due to the ongoing war.