Russian attacks wound 8 civilians as Moscow and Kyiv threaten to raise the stakes

Russian Aerial Strikes Injure Eight Civilians as Moscow and Kyiv Raise Stakes

KYIV, Ukraine – Russian aerial attacks struck apartment buildings in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight and Wednesday morning, wounding at least eight civilians, local officials said. The Ukrainian Air Force indicated that those two regions bore the brunt of the latest strikes against the country.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as the conflict stretches into its fifth year following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. The front line in eastern and southern Ukraine remains largely deadlocked, and U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have yet to produce a pathway to peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exchanged threats late Tuesday over what their next steps might be.

Zelenskyy warned foreign airlines that the skies over Russia are not safe for flights because of Ukrainian long‑range drone attacks, stating that “Russian airspace will effectively be closing.” He added that this military pressure aims to compel Russia to accept a peace deal.

Putin accused Zelenskyy of “state terrorism” and declared: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

At a late‑night news conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin also addressed claims that the Ukrainian military employed British‑made drones to strike targets inside Russia.

When asked whether Russia would target British military facilities if the U.K. government continued to supply weapons to Ukraine, Putin declined to comment, noting with a slight smile that it was “a military secret.”

Meanwhile, China and North Korea have reinforced their military support for Russia, as has Iran in earlier periods.

The remarks by the leaders arrived as European officials evaluate their response to what they describe as Moscow’s continuous campaign of continental sabotage and disruption aimed at undermining support for Ukraine. On Tuesday, German officials blamed Russia for an attempted attack on the Leipzig/Halle Airport last month involving a drone loaded with explosives.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 174 attack drones over the past 24 hours—approximately half jet‑powered models that are difficult to intercept and increasingly deployed by Moscow—as well as two ballistic missiles and two plane‑launched cruise missiles targeting Ukraine.

Officials in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region reported that the assault devastated a 24‑story residential building, killing apartments on multiple floors and injuring eight individuals, including a child.

Additionally, Odesa’s office buildings and two educational institutions sustained damage, said Serhii Lysak, head of the Odesa city military administration.

The barrage also triggered a power outage that halted electrically powered public transport, the city council announced.

A man and a woman were wounded by shrapnel in the morning attacks on the Kyiv area, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration.

It was the seventh consecutive day Kyiv came under fire, although the latest barrage was not as heavy as in prior days.

The assault started a blaze at a warehouse, officials reported; Ukrainian forces have deliberately targeted civilian sites in an effort to disrupt daily life and diminish public morale.

A fire broke out at an educational facility, and another medical practice sustaining damage, the Kyiv municipal military administration noted.

Russian air defenses neutralized 130 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. These drones were shot down across more than 11 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea, it explained.

Ukrainian drones have killed two people in Russia’s Belgorod bordering district and wounded 16 others, said Governor Alexander Shuvayev. Over the course of 24 hours, Ukrainian forces struck the region 140 times, he added.

Domestic Ukrainian long‑range drones have repeatedly targeted Russia’s oil industry to strain the civilian economy, and the hideouts of online retailers, aiming to convey the impact of war to the wider population.

Western analysts argue that Russia’s push deeper into Ukraine has lost its driving force, citing the modest gains achieved during last August’s offensive.

The Institute for the Study of War characterized Russian front‑line progress as “a fraction” of the advances made by Moscow in the same calendar month last year.

Overall, the spring‑summer Russian offensive has failed to break through entrenched Ukrainian defensive lines, the washington‑based think tank observed.

“Russian gains remain slow and limited,” it concluded.

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