Russian strikes kill civilians in several Ukrainian cities

Russian guided bombs and drones struck several Ukrainian cities, killing civilians in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Sumy, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians that Moscow was preparing a “massive attack.”

In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces attacked with glide bombs Saturday, killing five people and injuring 11, Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said in a Telegram post cited by Al Jazeera. He said residential and non-residential buildings were destroyed or damaged, and that the casualty count was rising.

“Specialists from the district state administration are working at the sites to document the destruction, and utility workers are eliminating the consequences of the attack,” Fedorov said.

NBC News, citing Fedorov, reported that at least four people were killed and six others wounded in the Zaporizhzhia strikes.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Russian bombs hit a low-rise apartment building in the Kholodnohirskiy district in the early hours of Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding nine, including a 6-year-old child, authorities said. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a body was pulled from the rubble hours after the attack.

“Sadly, during search and rescue operations, the body of a person who was killed was found under the rubble of the destroyed building,” Terekhov said on Telegram, according to Al Jazeera.

Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said at least nine people were wounded and five were hospitalized. He also said a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle elsewhere in Kharkiv on Friday evening, killing a man and wounding the woman who was driving.

Later Saturday, guided bombs struck the outskirts of the northern city of Sumy, killing a male civilian and damaging at least 20 private houses, local administration head Oleh Hryhorov reported on Telegram. In the southern Kherson region, authorities said a 72-year-old woman was wounded in a drone strike in Zelenivka, Al Jazeera reported.

Moscow did not immediately acknowledge or comment on the reported attacks in Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 92 of 99 Russian drones launched overnight, while seven struck targets in three locations.

In his nightly address, Zelenskyy urged people to heed air raid warnings. “Tonight and in the coming hours, it is especially important to pay close attention to air raid warnings,” he said. “The Russians have prepared for a massive attack. Please take care of yourselves.”

The attacks came as both sides reported drone operations deep behind the front lines. Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces targeted an oil refinery in Russia’s Tyumen region in western Siberia. Tyumen Gov. Alexander Moor said Russian air defenses repelled the attack, no damage was reported at the refinery and staff members were evacuated.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, seeking to cut Moscow’s war revenue and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages. NBC News reported that Ukraine on Thursday struck a major Moscow oil refinery for the second time in a week, sending large plumes of black smoke over the capital and disrupting hundreds of flights.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces shot down 177 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to NBC News. Al Jazeera reported that the ministry put the number at 187 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The ministry did not say how many drones reached their targets. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two drones were shot down on approach to the capital.