Russian forces launched 400 drones and 40 missiles on Ukraine overnight on Friday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, Ukrainian authorities said. All four fatalities occurred in Kyiv, where 20 other people were injured, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The State Service for Emergencies confirmed that three of the victims were emergency service workers. Separately, the National Police reported that about 40 people were injured nationwide, with most of them in Kyiv, the northwestern city of Lutsk and the western city of Ternopil. According to the police, 38 facilities were damaged in the attacks, including five apartment buildings and five private houses, Xinhua news agency reported. For Kyiv residents, the night brought a sadly familiar chorus: the high-pitched buzz of drones, the wail of air raid sirens, and thunderous explosions overhead—whether from successful air defence interceptions or incoming missiles hitting their targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had launched over 400 drones and 40 missiles in the massive overnight assault, calling it one of the largest since the war began. He said the strikes killed many people, injured 49 others, and targeted “almost all” of Ukraine, naming nine regions ranging from Lviv in the west to Sumy in the northeast. While Russia has persistently bombarded Ukraine throughout more than three years of full-scale war, this latest attack was widely anticipated. Ukrainians had been expecting a major reprisal since Sunday, when Kyiv carried out a bold strike that damaged more than a third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile bombers. During a phone call with former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would have to respond to the Ukrainian assault. (IANS)
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