Russia-Ukraine overnight strikes kill civilians in Belgorod, Kharkiv and Odesa

Russia and Ukraine launched overnight attacks that killed and injured civilians on both sides. The strikes highlight deepening cross-border escalation as Kyiv seeks more Patriot defences.

In Short

• Belgorod officials said drone attacks damaged homes, offices and commercial facilities
• Kharkiv strike hit a residential tower, leaving rescuers tackling debris
• Odesa faced dozens of missiles and drones, with eight residents injured

Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight strikes that killed civilians and injured many others on both sides, according to local authorities. In Russia's Belgorod border region, officials said Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured 24 others, including a four-year-old boy.

In Ukraine, Russian missiles hit a high-rise apartment block in Kharkiv, killing two people and injuring 13, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said. In the Black Sea port of Odesa, eight more people were injured after "dozens of missiles and drones" struck the city and the surrounding region, according to local administration head Oleh Kiper.

Large-scale Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have become almost routine in recent weeks, with Moscow exploiting Ukraine's critical shortage of interceptors for the US-made Patriot systems, described as the only air defence weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months urged other countries, especially the US, to send more Patriot systems, which he said have been made scarcer by the Iran war, arguing that they are crucial for protecting civilians. Failing that, Zelenskyy wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or get approval from Elon Musk to use the Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit missile launchers.

At the same time, Kyiv has continued long-range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, as well as the country's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, and other targets deep inside Russia, triggering a fuel crisis. Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its overnight strikes hit drone warehouses in the Kharkiv region, and fuel depots and other military stores at the port of Odesa. It also said its forces shot down 153 Ukrainian drones during the night, including over Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Authorities in Russia's Belgorod region said the Ukrainian drone strikes damaged 29 apartment blocks, five private houses, administrative buildings and unspecified "commercial facilities". The overnight attacks underlined the continuing exchange of strikes, with civilian casualties and damage reported on both sides.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends