Russia, Ukraine trade strikes after Kyiv’s largest aerial assault, 13 killed

At least nine people have been killed and 23 injured, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on Russia over the past 24 hours, according to local Russian officials, as Moscow and Kyiv continued to exchange deadly drone and missile attacks.

Eight people were killed in Russia’s western Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, while a woman was killed overnight in the southern Astrakhan region, officials said.

The latest strikes came a day after Russia described a Ukrainian drone assault as the “largest-scale” attack by Ukraine this year. At least seven people were killed in those strikes, while Russian attacks on Ukraine on Saturday night killed at least seven people and injured more than 39.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

In Belgorod, a building was set on fire and a car was damaged in the village of Koloskovo, acting regional Governor Alexandr Shuvaev said. An injured child was taken to hospital, while two other people received medical treatment.

In Astrakhan, Governor Igor Babushkin said a woman was killed after a Ukrainian drone struck a home. He said the attack had targeted an industrial facility, which was not damaged.

Russian strikes kill 4 in Ukraine

In Ukraine, two people were killed in Russian strikes on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, the state emergency service DSNS said.

Fifty-four trading pavilions were set ablaze at a market in Sloviansk, it said.

In the Sumy region, a man and a woman were killed in an overnight Russian drone attack, regional head Oleh Hryhorov said.

A separate overnight attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa damaged a civilian vessel and injured four people, local officials said.

Russia has sought to disrupt Ukraine’s trade by targeting ports and coastal infrastructure, while Kyiv has stepped up drone attacks deep inside Russia in recent weeks.

On Saturday night, Ukraine launched about 822 drones towards Russia, according to Russian officials. Around 600 were reportedly headed towards Moscow, in what the city’s mayor described as one of the most massive drone attacks on the capital in recent memory.

Five people were killed in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region during those attacks, while a woman died in an attack on a civilian bus in Belgorod and an 83-year-old man was killed when a drone struck a home in the Moscow region.

A warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries was also hit.

Kyiv defends strikes inside Russia

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Wildberries facilities since July. Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said the latest attack meant seven of the company’s 10 largest logistics centres had been “disabled”.

Maj Gen Vadym Skibitski, deputy chief of Ukraine’s intelligence service, defended attacks on distribution warehouses and accused Russia of using civilian logistics networks to support its armed forces.

“It's one of the elements of the logistics system of the Russian Federation to wage the war, including through Wildberries - some military equipment, components and other elements,” he said.

Skibitski said Ukraine did not deliberately target civilians and claimed some deaths in Russia resulted from air defences shooting down incoming missiles and drones.

He also said the strikes were affecting public opinion in Russia by raising concerns about the country’s ability to prevent attacks and protect some areas.

Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine

Russia has also increased missile attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks.

Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz said on Monday that Russian forces had attacked its facilities 13 times during the past week.

During Russian attacks on Saturday night, a man and a woman were killed after a private house was hit by a guided aerial bomb in the Zaporizhzhia region, officials said. Five other people were killed in attacks elsewhere in Ukraine.

Russia said its strikes on Kyiv targeted a FirePoint facility producing components for Ukrainian Flamingo missiles and a factory manufacturing drone components.

The Russian attacks also hit a book market in Kyiv’s Pochayna district, leaving burned books and debris scattered across the site.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 13 regions had come under attack in the past week, with Russia launching more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles.

Both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of targeting civilians.