Kyiv, Mar 14: A combined missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region killed at least four people and wounded at least 15 overnight into Saturday, according to the head of the regional administration.
Three of the wounded were in critical condition, of whom two were undergoing surgery, Mykola Kalashnyk reported on Saturday. The attack hit four districts, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, enterprises and critical infrastructure, Kalashnyk added in a social media post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the main target for the overnight strikes was “the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region.” He said Russia launched around 430 drones of various types during the night, as well as 68 missiles.
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Saturday said the nighttime strikes targeted energy and industrial facilities serving Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as military airfields.
The strikes came days after the US postponed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for this week, citing the war in the Middle East.
As US and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation but no action to support its ally. Moscow’s failure to help another ally, after the 2024 ouster of former Syrian ruler Bashar Assad and January’s US arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, highlighted the limits of its influence — but the Kremlin expects to reap benefits from the Iran war.
Russia is already profiting from a surge in global energy prices, and could hope that the Mideast war will distract 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 per cent attention” to the need to boost the production of air defence 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 post on social media.
“We must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defence missiles — especially those capable of countering ballistic threats — as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives,” he said.
Kyiv is also awaiting White House approval for a major drone production agreement proposed by Ukraine last year, Zelenskyy said Thursday, as countries scramble to modernise their air defences after the Iran war exposed shortcomings.
Also on Thursday, Zelenskyy criticised the 30-day US waiver on Russian oil sanctions amid the war in the Middle East, saying it is “not the right decision” and won’t help bring a stop to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about USD 10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said. “This certainly does not help peace.”
Overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery and port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, local Russian officials reported.
Krasnodar authorities said three people were hurt in a strike on Port Kavkaz, a port opposite Crimea used to ship liquefied natural gas and grains. A service vessel and pier infrastructure were damaged, they said in a social media post. One person was hospitalised, as they added in a separate post later.
Falling drone debris also sparked 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 damage.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 87 Ukrainian drones during the night, including 16 over the Krasnodar region and 31 over the nearby Sea of Azov.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 16 drones had been downed on the approach to the Russian capital as of early afternoon on Saturday.
Earlier this week, Russian and Ukrainian officials both claimed front-line progress, with Ukraine saying it pushed Moscow’s forces back across places on the front line and the Kremlin insisting Russia’s invasion of its neighbour is making progress. (AP)
