Russian Drone Strikes on Ukraine Cause Fatalities and Damage
KYIV (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and 10 injured, including three children, in overnight drone attacks by Russia on Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday.
Various attacks also damaged energy facilities in two regions, according to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The attacks came as both sides accuse each other of not abiding by a U.S.-proposed moratorium on strikes on each other's energy facilities.
"This systematic and constant nature of Russian strikes clearly indicates that Moscow despises the diplomatic efforts of partners," Zelenskiy said. "What's needed is new and tangible pressure on Russia to put this war on a path toward ending."
A drone hit a substation in the northeastern Sumy region and artillery fire damaged a power line in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, cutting electricity to nearly 4,000 consumers, he said on X.
A 45-year-old civilian was killed and two people were injured in a strike on a settlement near the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, the governor of the southeastern region said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Fifteen drone strikes were carried out on Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second largest city and lies close to the Russian border, city Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.
Oleh Sinehubov, the region's governor, said that a 9-month infant, a 7-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were among the eight injured in Kharkiv.
Russia has recently intensified its strikes on the city, with its attacks killing at least two people over the weekend and injuring tens more.
The Ukrainian air force shot down 41 drones out of 74 launched by Russia, it said in a statement on Telegram.
Another 20 drones did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it added, without saying what happened to the remaining 13 drones.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, saying their attacks are aimed at destroying each other's infrastructure crucial to war efforts.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko and Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Kim Coghill and Frances Kerry)
