Four people, including a three-year-old child, were killed in Russian air attacks targeting Kyiv and the surrounding region early Saturday, according to local officials, as Ukrainian forces carried out long-range strikes against oil facilities inside Russia.
The overnight bombardment involved 151 drones and six ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian air force. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the ballistic missiles targeted civilian infrastructure in the capital. In the Brovary district northeast of Kyiv, multiple Russian drones destroyed a family home, killing two grandparents and their three-year-old grandson, local authorities reported. Three other family members and a neighbor who rushed to assist were hospitalized after the blast reduced the property to rubble.
Ukraine’s air force reported that air defenses intercepted or downed 135 of the 151 incoming drones. However, Ukrainian officials noted that defenses continue to struggle against ballistic missiles due to a critical shortage of interceptors for U.S.-made Patriot systems, which remain the sole air defense weapons in the country’s arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
Following the strikes, Zelenskyy appealed via social media platform X for increased international sanctions to prevent the production of ballistic missiles, alongside additional anti-ballistic capabilities and interceptor missiles. Government figures released Friday by Ukraine’s defense ministry indicated that air defenses intercepted approximately 5,300 drones and missiles last month, accounting for just under 60% of the roughly 9,000 projectiles launched by Russia during that period.
Ukrainian Drones Hit Russian Oil Refineries
While civilian areas faced heavy bombardment, Ukrainian forces continued long-range drone operations targeting industrial energy infrastructure within Russia. Ukraine’s General Staff stated that forces struck the Ilsky Oil Refinery in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region and the Syzran Oil Refinery in the Samara region, located more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) inside Russia.
Local officials in the Krasnodar region confirmed that a fire broke out at the Ilsky Oil Refinery after it was struck by debris from a falling drone, leaving six people wounded. In the Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev reported that drones hit an industrial enterprise, though he did not specifically mention the refinery. The ongoing campaign of domestically developed drone strikes has targeted Russian oil facilities for months, generating fuel shortages that have strained the Kremlin’s domestic logistics.
Zelenskyy Visits Serbia for Bilateral Talks
The latest military escalations unfolded as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Serbia on Friday for his first official visit to the nation, which has maintained diplomatic ties with Russia throughout the ongoing full-scale invasion.
“Important talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said Friday, noting that discussions would include Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Djuro Macut. The agenda covers the expansion of bilateral economic ties, relations with the European Union, and regional security issues.
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