Russian Strikes Across Ukraine Kill 9, Injure Dozens and Damage Homes

Russian air strikes across several regions of Ukraine have killed at least nine people and injured dozens, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, as Moscow intensified attacks on cities, residential areas and infrastructure.

The latest strikes hit several parts of Ukraine, including Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, the Zhytomyr region and Odesa.

In Kramatorsk, one of Ukraine’s frontline “fortress cities,” Russian forces attacked private vehicles in three separate incidents over a period of about 90 minutes, according to the city council. Three people were killed and four others injured.

“These are not military targets,” the council said, describing the vehicles as ordinary civilian cars.

In the Zhytomyr region, Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said a Russian strike on a grocery store in the town of Zvyahel killed two people. Two petrol stations and an unidentified foreign-invested enterprise were also hit, he said.

Two other people were killed and 11 injured in strikes on Zaporizhzhia and surrounding areas, according to regional Governor Ivan Fedorov.

In Kryvyi Rih, the home city of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, two people were killed in overnight drone and missile attacks, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration.

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Odesa Region also came under heavy attack. Governor Oleh Kiper said 37 people, including an infant, were injured in a series of overnight strikes, while two people remained missing.

The attacks caused damage to residential buildings and other infrastructure across the affected regions.

Russia Says Industrial Facilities Were Targeted

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces struck a number of Ukrainian industrial facilities, including the Zaporizhzhia-based steelmaker Zaporizhstal, an Interpipe Steel complex in Dnipro and several plants in Kryvyi Rih.

The ministry also said Russian forces had continued attacks on Ukrainian ports, including strikes on cargo vessels in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and a cargo ship in Odesa that Moscow claimed was carrying military-related goods.

Ukraine has denied Russia’s justification for attacks that cause civilian casualties, while Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims made by either side.

Ukraine Reports Retaliatory Strikes Inside Russia

Ukraine’s military said it carried out a drone strike on the Togliattikauchuk synthetic-rubber plant in Togliatti, in Russia’s Samara region, causing a fire.

Ukrainian officials said the facility produces synthetic rubber and fuel additives that are used in Russian missile fuel.

Russian authorities confirmed that industrial facilities in the Samara region came under drone attack but did not initially specify which facilities were damaged.

Togliatti Mayor Ilya Sukhikh said several residential buildings were damaged and one person was injured.

In another reported attack, four commercial properties were set ablaze in the Russian city of Taganrog in the Rostov region, according to local authorities.

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The latest wave of strikes highlights the continued escalation of long-range attacks by both Russia and Ukraine, with military facilities, industrial infrastructure, energy sites, ports and, increasingly, civilian areas being caught in the fighting.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts or damage claims from either side.