Russian missile and drone attack in kyiv region kills 4, injures at least 15

a combination missile and drone attack In the kyiv region, at least four people were killed and at least 15 injured overnight on Saturday, according to the head of the regional administration.

Three of the injured are in critical condition, two of whom are undergoing surgery, Mykola Kalashnyk reported on Saturday. The attack affected four districts and damaged residential buildings, educational institutions, businesses and critical infrastructure, Kalashnyk added in a social media post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the main target of the overnight attacks was “the energy infrastructure of the kyiv region.” He said Russia launched about 430 drones of various types overnight, as well as 68 missiles.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that the overnight attacks targeted energy and industrial facilities serving Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as military airfields.

The attacks came days after the United States postponed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for this week, citing the war in the middle east.

As American and Israeli missiles and bombs rain down on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation. Moscow is providing intelligence to Iran regarding American positions in the Middle East during the war, multiple sources told News themezone last week. The Kremlin’s sharing of information about American assets marked the first known indication that Russia is indirectly helping Iran.

But Russia has not taken any direct steps to support its ally. Moscow’s failure to help another ally, following the overthrow of former Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in 2024 and the US arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January, highlighted the limits of its influence, but the Kremlin hopes to reap benefits from war with Iran.

Russia is already benefiting from rising global energy prices and could hope that the war in the Middle East will divert attention from Ukraine, deplete Western arsenals and force NATO allies to reduce military support for kyiv.

Zelenskyy on Saturday called on kyiv’s Western partners to pay “one hundred percent attention” to the need to boost production of air defense missiles.

“Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine,” he said in a social media post.

“We must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, that is: in Europe, we must develop the production of air defense missiles, especially those capable of countering ballistic threats, as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives,” he said.

kyiv is also waiting for White House approval for a major drone production deal proposed by Ukraine last year, Zelenskyy said Thursday, as countries rush to modernize their air defenses after the Iran war exposed deficiencies.

Also on Thursday, Zelenskyy criticized the 30-day deadline. US exemption from Russian oil sanctions amid the war in the Middle East, saying it is “not the right decision” and will not help stop Russia’s more than four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Some 124 million barrels of Russian oil are currently at sea around the world, News themezone has learned.

“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said. “This certainly does not help peace.”

Overnight on Saturday, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery and port in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, local Russian officials reported.

Authorities in Krasnodar said three people were wounded in an attack at Port Kavkaz, a port off Crimea used to transport liquefied natural gas and grain. A service vessel and dock infrastructure were damaged, they said in a social media post. One person was hospitalized, they later added in a separate post.

Falling drone debris also caused a fire at the region’s Afipsky oil refinery, authorities said in a separate Telegram post. They said no one was hurt, but did not immediately comment on the damage.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 87 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 16 over the Krasnodar region and 31 over the nearby Sea of ​​Azov.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 16 drones had been shot down on the approach to the Russian capital as of early Saturday afternoon.

Earlier this week, Russian and Ukrainian officials claimed progress on the front line, with Ukraine saying it pushed back Moscow’s forces through places on the front line and the Kremlin insisting that Russia’s invasion of its neighbor is making progress.

About two weeks ago, Russia noted that I wasn’t in a hurry reach an agreement to end their war against Ukraine.

“Have you heard anything from us about deadlines? We don’t have deadlines, we have tasks. We are fulfilling them,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told state media in Moscow.