A Russian overnight drone barrage targeting the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least three people and injured 64 others, including nine children, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. The nine-minute attack used Iranian-designed Shahed drones, first-person view quadcopters, and KAB guided bombs, according to local authorities.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the strikes ignited fires in 15 units of a five-story apartment building and damaged more than 100 residential structures. "There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private homes, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport," Terekhov wrote on Telegram. "The destruction is enormous."
Ukraine's second-largest city, located just 20 miles from the Russian border, has come under renewed aerial assault in recent weeks as Moscow intensifies its cross-border offensive. The escalation comes amid Russian claims of retaliation for Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory and follows the war's two largest aerial attacks earlier this week.
"Every new day now brings new despicable blows from Russia, and almost every blow is telling," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "Russia deserves increased pressure; with literally every blow it strikes against ordinary life, it proves that the pressure is not enough."
Ukrainian air defenses said 85 drones and one missile were launched by Russian forces overnight, with 49 drones intercepted. Impacts were confirmed in 14 regions, and drone debris fell in two others. Zelenskyy added that Russian forces again used ballistic missiles from North Korea and warned of "evidence that Russian-Iranian drone technologies have spread to North Korea."
"The longer this war continues on our territory, the more warfare technologies evolve and the greater the threat will be to everyone," Zelenskyy said. "This must be addressed now-not when thousands of upgraded Shahed drones and ballistic missiles begin to threaten Seoul and Tokyo."
In the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, Russian attacks on key energy infrastructure left widespread power outages. Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson, said crews were working to restore electricity following damage to "an important energy facility." He warned residents to prepare for extended outages. Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, said emergency blackouts were underway but restoration was expected soon.
Elsewhere, five people were injured in Russian shelling in Kherson, while one person was killed and another injured in Donetsk, officials said.
Meanwhile, drone warfare extended deeper into Russia. Tambov region's acting governor, Evgeny Pervyshov, said debris from a Ukrainian drone strike caused a fire in the town of Kotovsk, but stated the "situation is under control." Ukrainian official Andriy Kovalenko claimed that the strike hit the Tambov gunpowder plant, disrupting production at one of Russia's main suppliers of military-grade explosives. "With the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, production at the plant has increased significantly," Kovalenko stated.
In Russia's western Belgorod region, six people were injured by a Ukrainian drone strike on a factory in Shebekino, according to regional authorities. All were hospitalized.
Zelenskyy said he met with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to discuss bolstering air defense efforts and countering Russia's evolving drone strategy. "Without this, they will not go for real diplomacy," Zelenskyy said. "Everyone who called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act."
