Deadly overnight drone and missile strikes claimed five lives across Russia and Ukraine on Saturday, as hostilities between the two countries continue to escalate amid stalled ceasefire negotiations.
Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched a barrage of over 200 drones and nearly 30 missiles overnight, with the Dnipropetrovsk region bearing the brunt of the attack. Three people were killed and six injured in the region, where missiles struck residential areas, industrial sites, and a shopping centre in the wider Dnipro district.
Meanwhile, across the border, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region confirmed two deaths after a Ukrainian drone strike caused a car to catch fire. The attack marked another in a growing series of Ukrainian drone incursions into Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian strikes, stating on social media platform X that attacks on cities such as Kharkiv and Sumy “cannot be left without response.” He added that long-range Ukrainian drones were delivering “real consequences” to Russian military sites and airfields.
“Russia’s own war is now hitting them back,” Zelensky said, asserting that Ukraine’s drone capabilities are a strategic element in pushing toward peace.
In battlefield updates, Russia’s defence ministry claimed to have captured two Ukrainian villages: Zelenyi Hai in Donetsk and Maliivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Meanwhile, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were making gains in the northeastern Sumy region, gradually pushing Russian troops back from border areas.
Although he acknowledged that Sumy remains a key focus for Russian forces, Zelensky praised Ukrainian troops for “consistently blocking Russian attempts to advance.” Local reports also suggested that Ukrainian forces had retaken the village of Kindrativka.
Elsewhere, heavy fighting continued in Donetsk’s Pokrovsk area, with Zelensky reporting 51 “intense combat engagements” in the last 24 hours as Ukrainian troops defended their positions.
The surge in violence comes just days after Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for a third round of ceasefire talks. However, the meeting yielded no breakthrough, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock.
The earlier talks in May and June were held at the request of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged an end to the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Despite international efforts, peace remains elusive, with both sides doubling down on military pressure and no clear path forward from the negotiating table.
