Russia has launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine’s southern and central regions, authorities have said, as Kyiv struck Russian oil refineries.
One woman was killed in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and 30 people were injured – including three children – according to local officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched over 500 drones and 45 missiles, hitting 14 regions across the country.
Following the attack, Russia’s defence ministry said all “targets of the strike have been achieved” and “designated objects have been hit”.
It comes amid ongoing international efforts to secure a peace deal between the two warring nations – and days after Ukraine faced the second largest aerial attack of the war so far, with a least 23 killed on Thursday.
In Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said the region was “under massive attack” overnight as he warned people to take cover.
It is the second successive night Dnipropetrovsk has been targeted. Earlier this week, Kyiv acknowledged that Russia’s military had entered the region and is trying to establish a foothold.
Railway infrastructure was damaged near the capital, Kyiv, but it was central and south-eastern Ukraine that bore the brunt of the latest strikes.
Emergency services were seen putting out fires in Zaporizhzhia, while explosions were heard in the central eastern regions of Dnipro and Pavlohrad.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said it hit oil refineries in Krasnodar and Syzran in Russia overnight. Both refineries have been targeted before.
The Ukrainian military said there were “numerous explosions and fires were recorded at the facility”, which they said produces a volume of three million tons per year.
Russian authorities in Krasnodar acknowledged the drone strikes had struck its oil refinery. They said one of the process units was damaged and a fire occurred in the area, adding that there had been no casualties.
The Russian defence ministry said it had shot down 20 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 18 over Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The Russian military also said it captured a rural settlement in Donetsk, Komyshevakha, on Saturday morning. Ukraine has not confirmed this.
The aerial exchange follows US-led diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, which so far remain at a standstill.
Zelensky said the latest attacks showed Russia’s “disregard for words”, adding that the only way to deal with Russia was to impose sanctions.
“We expect action from the US, Europe and the entire world,” he said.
European foreign affairs ministers are in Denmark this weekend to discuss international developments – including the war in Ukraine.
One of the key issues on the table is the possibility of freezing approximately €210bn (£181.7bn) worth of Russian assets.
