 "Firefighters work at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters")
Russian drone and missile assaults on Ukraine’s eastern city of Dobropillia overnight killed at least 11 people and injured 30, including five children, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said Saturday.
According to the ministry, Russian soldiers damaged eight multi-story buildings and thirty vehicles during their strike on Dobropillia using ballistic missiles, many rockets, and drones. Eleven individuals, including five children, were killed in the assault, and thirty others were injured.
“While extinguishing the fire, the occupiers struck again, damaging the fire truck,” the ministry said on the Telegram messenger app.
Photographs of partially destroyed buildings engulfed in flames and rescue workers clearing debris were also published by the ministry.
The ministry also reported that three civilians were killed in a separate drone attack on the Kharkiv region in the northeast.
“Such strikes show that Russia’s objectives have not changed. Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Facebook.
On Friday, Russian forces destroyed Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure in their first big missile assault since the US halted information cooperation with Ukraine, putting further pressure on Kyiv as President Donald Trump wants a quick conclusion to the war.
The suspension of US military help and information may weaken Ukraine’s air defences as it runs low on modern missiles and unable to follow strikes as efficiently, military specialists warn.
Impact Shorts
View AllDobropillia, which was home to around 28,000 people prior to the fighting, is located in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, 22 kilometres (13.67 miles) from the front line north of the important centre of Pokrovsk, which Russian soldiers have been attacking for weeks.
The ministry also said at least three were killed and 7 injured in a separate drone attack on Kharkiv region overnight.
Ukrainian military said Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and one Iskander-K cruise missile as well as 145 drones.
They said air forces shot down one cruise missile and 79 drones. The military said another 54 drones did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic countermeasures.