At least eight people were killed and dozens more injured in Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, officials said, as Moscow and Kiev exchanged accusations over a new wave of overnight attacks.
The deadliest strike hit the Novopillya community near Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, where Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said six people were killed and 10 others wounded in a missile attack. Two more people were wounded in separate drone strikes in the region's Nikopol district.
In Kiev, one person was killed and two others wounded after missile strikes hit two districts of the capital, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Another person was killed in the central Poltava region after strikes damaged warehouse facilities and a terminal operated by postal and courier company Nova Poshta.
Authorities also reported 30 people injured in the western city of Lviv, where missile strikes damaged residential buildings and two kindergartens. Five more people were hurt in the Brovary district outside Kiev.
Zelenskyy urges faster air defence support
Before the overnight attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned there was a "high probability" of a major Russian assault after receiving a briefing from Ukraine's Air Force.
Following the strikes, he said Russia launched more than 70 missiles and over 280 attack drones. He reiterated calls for allies to speed up deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles.
"Untimely assistance and delays in the delivery of anti-ballistic missiles lead to this kind of destruction," Zelenskyy said, urging partners to strengthen Ukraine's air defences.
Russia reports massive Ukrainian drone attack
Russia's defence ministry said it carried out a "massive" overnight strike targeting Ukrainian military airfields, defence industry facilities and logistics centres involved in missile and drone operations.
Moscow also claimed its air defences intercepted 258 Ukrainian drones across multiple Russian regions, the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and annexed Crimea.
Russian online retailer Wildberries said drone attacks damaged one of its warehouses in the Penza region, wounding one person, while another logistics centre in the Republic of Udmurtia also came under attack.
