Day after 1,000-drone barrage on Moscow, Russia strikes Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia

• Russian drones struck Zaporizhzhia, wounding five people and damaging residential buildings, a university and a shopping mall

• A separate Russian drone strike killed a woman and seriously injured her 13-year-old son in Kharkiv

• The strikes followed Ukraine’s launch of more than 1,000 drones at Russia over the weekend

Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday, damaging apartment blocks, a university and a shopping mall and wounding five people, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at targets across Russia.

The Russian strikes also hit nine other regions of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a Russian drone struck a home, killing a 45-year-old woman and seriously injuring her 13-year-old son, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, warehouses and ports, among other military-related sites, during overnight strikes.

Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down or suppressed 148 Russian drones during the overnight attack. Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences had downed 244 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Black Sea.

The latest exchanges followed Ukraine’s large-scale drone attack on Russia from Saturday to Sunday, when Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones, including hundreds towards Moscow. Russian officials said the attacks killed two people and injured 20 in the wider Moscow region, while damage was reported at the Moscow Oil Refinery and a residential building.

US President Donald Trump on Monday described the war as “ridiculous” and said Russia had “unfortunately lost control” of its diesel oil production as Ukrainian strikes targeted Russian refineries. Earlier this month, Trump had urged Zelenskyy to halt the refinery attacks, saying they were contributing to shortages and higher prices.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine remained focused on securing an end to the war and was expected to discuss peace efforts during the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is due to meet Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not scheduled to attend.

The continuing drone exchanges come as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Moldova reports new drone incursion

Moldova temporarily closed part of its northern airspace overnight after surveillance systems detected an “aerial object” entering the country shortly after midnight, its defence ministry said.

Moldovan officials have reported several recent airspace violations and the discovery of drone debris on its territory. It was not immediately clear whether the latest object was Russian or Ukrainian, as electronic jamming can cause drones to stray from their intended routes.

Romania has also reported an increase in drone incursions into its airspace as the aerial campaign between Russia and Ukraine intensifies.