Russian air strikes on northeastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours have killed at least four people and injured 11 others, according to Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Syniehubov said on Saturday that the attacks hit the city of Kharkiv as well as 11 surrounding towns and villages.
In another overnight attack in northeastern Ukraine, at least 11 people, including a child, were wounded after a Russian drone hit a building in the Sumy region.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said attack drones struck a 16-storey residential building and a private housing area in Sumy. Emergency crews evacuated residents from the burning high-rise, and the fire was later brought under control.
Authorities said law enforcement officers were documenting the aftermath, assessing the scale of the destruction and collecting evidence related to possible war crimes.
Air Defences Respond Across Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force said its defence systems had shot down or otherwise neutralised 260 out of 286 Russian drones launched overnight towards the north, south, east and centre of the country.
It added that 11 drones hit 10 locations, while debris from intercepted drones was found in six other areas.
The latest attacks underline the continued intensity of Russia’s air campaign, even as Ukrainian air defences manage to intercept a large number of incoming drones.
Casualties Also Reported in Russia
Meanwhile, in Russia, officials said at least one person was killed and four others were injured during drone and missile attacks in the southern Rostov region.
The overnight strikes took place in the port city of Taganrog, according to Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar, who posted updates on Telegram.
Slyusar said the injured included three Russian citizens and one foreign national, all of whom were in critical condition.
He also said a missile struck a commercial facility, causing a fire. People in the area were evacuated, and the blaze was later contained.
In a separate incident, falling drone debris struck a foreign-flagged cargo ship in the Sea of Azov, sparking a fire. Air defence systems also reportedly destroyed drones over Taganrog Bay and several nearby districts. Slyusar did not say who launched the attacks.
The Sea of Azov remains a vital economic route linking Russia and Ukraine and serves as an important corridor for industrial shipping.
Peace Talks Remain Deadlocked
Efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, continue to make little progress.
This year, the United States, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva in an effort to find a path towards ending the war.
A fourth round of talks that had been expected last month was postponed because of the US-Israel war on Iran. No breakthrough has been achieved on one of the most difficult issues in the negotiations: the status of territory in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had proposed an Easter truce, but Russia’s foreign ministry rejected the idea and dismissed it as a public relations move.
Russia continues to insist that any peace settlement must include Ukraine giving up the part of the eastern Donbas region that Moscow has been unable to fully seize during the war. Zelenskyy has refused to consider that demand, saying it would go against Ukraine’s constitution.
Kyiv believes it can continue defending the remaining industrial towns and cities in its eastern defensive line for years, pointing to the slow pace of Russian advances since 2023 and the role of Ukrainian drones in holding back frontline assaults.