Russian Strikes on Kharkiv Kill Three
Overnight, Russian forces launched air strikes on Balakliia, while Ukrainian forces hit targets deep inside Russian territory and in the Black Sea.
Overnight, Russian forces launched air strikes on Balakliia, while Ukrainian forces hit targets deep inside Russian territory and in the Black Sea.
At least three people were killed in overnight Russian air strikes on the city of Balakliia in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, according to Vitaliy Karabanov, head of the local military administration, via Telegram. The attacks are part of ongoing Russian operations targeting Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian areas.
According to the morning bulletin of the Ukrainian Air Force, as reported by Ukrinform, Ukrainian air defense managed to shoot down 66 of the 101 drones launched by Russian forces overnight. In addition to drones, the Russians also fired four missiles. Of the total projectiles launched, 25 Shahed-type drones and one Oniks missile managed to hit their targets, affecting a total of 18 different locations. The attack, according to reports, was still ongoing at the time the information was released.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian defense forces conducted their own operations deep inside Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on platform X that Ukrainian forces had struck structures of the "Russian aggressor" more than 1,300 kilometers from the front line. "In Bashkortostan, the Bashneft-Novoil refinery was hit. In the Yaroslavl region, nearly 700 kilometers from our border, the Slavneft-Yanos refinery was hit," Zelensky wrote. The President clarified that the goal of the cross-border strikes is "to limit Russia's oil revenues, which it uses to finance the war and kill Ukrainians."
In addition to ground targets, Ukrainian forces also recorded successes at sea. "Our responses to Russian aggression in the Black Sea have also been crowned with success. Specifically, two military patrol boats and ships from the 'shadow fleet' were hit," Zelensky added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed as many as 605 Ukrainian drones overnight over the territory of Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula. However, the statement acknowledges that one logistics center owned by Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries suffered "minor damage."
