At least six people were killed overnight and on Saturday as Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dampened hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than three-year war.
Two people died and 14 were wounded when Russian forces attacked the Bukovina area in the Chernivtsi region of southwestern Ukraine with four drones and a missile, regional governor Ruslan Zaparaniuk said on Saturday.
He said the two people died because of falling debris from a drone.
A drone attack in Ukraine’s western Lviv region wounded six people, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said.
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Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Two people were killed on Saturday in a missile strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to regional governor Serhii Lysak.
Two other people were killed on Saturday in the Sumy region by a Russian guided bomb, officials said.
Russia fired 597 drones and decoys, with 26 cruise missiles, into Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said.
Of these, 319 drones and 25 cruise missiles were shot down and 258 decoy drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Earlier this week Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks and targeting Lutsk near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, a region that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid.
Poland’s air force scrambled fighter jets in areas bordering Ukraine, Polish officials said.
Russia’s intensifying long-range attacks have coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 620-mile front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure.
Russia’s defence ministry said it shot down 33 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday. - AP
