Russian drone attacks across Ukraine have killed at least one person and wounded more than a dozen others, as Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy exchanged threats over further escalation of the conflict.
Ukrainian authorities reported attacks between Tuesday and Wednesday in Kyiv, the southern city of Odesa and Dnipro in the east, where a man’s body was recovered from beneath rubble.
The attacks came as the war, now in its fifth year, continues to intensify, with the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine largely deadlocked and US-led efforts to broker a peace agreement yet to produce a breakthrough.
Zelenskyy warned foreign airlines against flying through Russian airspace, saying Ukrainian long-range drone attacks meant that “Russian airspace will effectively be closing.” He said the military pressure was intended to force Moscow to agree to peace negotiations.
Putin, however, accused Zelenskyy of “state terrorism” and declared that Russia does not negotiate with terrorists.
Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin also addressed reports that Ukraine had used British-made drones in attacks on Russian territory.
Asked whether Russia could target British military facilities if the UK continued supplying weapons to Ukraine, Putin declined to rule out such action, saying it was “a military secret.”
The latest exchanges came as European governments considered their response to what they described as Russia’s campaign of sabotage and disruption aimed at weakening support for Ukraine. Germany on Tuesday accused Russia of attempting to carry out a drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport last month using an explosive-laden drone.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 174 attack drones overnight, including about half that were jet-powered and more difficult to intercept. The barrage also included two ballistic missiles and two air-launched missiles.
In Odesa, officials said a 24-storey residential building was damaged, with apartments on several floors destroyed. Eight people, including a child, were wounded.
Office buildings and two educational facilities were also damaged, while the attacks caused power outages that disrupted electric public transport.
In the Kyiv region, a man and a woman were wounded by shrapnel, according to local authorities. It was the seventh consecutive day that Kyiv had come under attack, although the latest barrage was less intense than previous strikes.
A warehouse was set on fire, while an educational facility was also damaged and a medical practice was hit, officials said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones overnight over 11 Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea.
Two people were killed and 16 others wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to acting governor Aleksandr Shuvaev. He said the region came under attack 140 times over a 24-hour period.
Ukraine has increasingly used domestically produced long-range drones to target Russia’s oil industry and other infrastructure, seeking to disrupt Moscow’s economy and increase the impact of the war on the Russian population.
