Russian Strikes Kill Two in Ukraine as Kyiv Expands Drone Attacks Inside Russia
Kyiv-Russian overnight attacks killed two people and injured at least 19 across Ukraine, local officials said on Wednesday, while Ukrainian drones targeted industrial and energy facilities deep inside Russian territory in an escalation of cross-border strikes tied to the war now entering its fifth year.
Authorities in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro said Russian forces launched missiles, drones and artillery strikes that killed two civilians and wounded six others.
Regional officials also reported additional casualties in the northeastern Sumy region and the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, where 13 more people, including three children, were injured.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of targeting civilian areas, allegations both sides deny.
At the same time, Ukrainian drone attacks struck several Russian regions overnight, targeting industrial zones and energy infrastructure that Kyiv views as critical to Moscow’s war financing capabilities.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems intercepted 273 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, according to state news agency TASS.
In Russia’s southern Stavropol region, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said drones targeted industrial facilities near Nevinnomyssk, home to the large chemical producer Nevinnomyssky Azot, which has previously been attacked during the conflict.
Authorities in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region also reported drone activity near the city of Kstovo, where one of Lukoil’s major oil refineries is located.
Additional drone interceptions were reported over the Leningrad region, which hosts one of Russia’s largest oil export terminals and refinery complexes, as well as near Moscow and the Tula region south of the capital.
Regional officials in Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, said an ambulance driver was injured during attacks in the area.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone operations against Russian oil infrastructure in recent months, seeking to disrupt fuel supplies and reduce energy export revenues that support Moscow’s military operations.
The latest strikes coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China, one of Russia’s largest energy customers and a key economic partner since Western sanctions intensified following the invasion of Ukraine.
The conflict has increasingly evolved into a war of attrition marked by missile barrages, drone warfare and attacks on strategic infrastructure far from the front lines.
