Russia launches drone assault after accusing Ukraine of deadly attack within Russia

(LONDON) — Dozens of Russian drones targeted civilian and military targets in Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of a deadly strike on a Russian border city.

Russia launched at least nine missiles and at least 49 drones before 6 a.m. Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 21 of the drones.

The assault targeted cities, including Kyiv, the capital, hitting administrative and residential buildings, Ukraine said. Four drones struck central Kharkiv, sparking fires that spread over about 1,000 square meters, the country’s State Emergency Service said on social media. No injuries or deaths had been reported, officials said.

The aerial assault followed two days of escalated shelling, including a strike on Saturday in Belgorod, Russia, that killed at least 21 people, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Dashcam video taken by a vehicle driving along a retail strip in Belgorod appeared to show a missile landing within the city, shattering nearby windows and sending pedestrians fleeing.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but Russia blamed Ukraine for that deadly strike, which officials said injured another 111 people.

Russia a day earlier had launched one of its largest overnight aerial assaults on Ukraine since the war began. The attack began at about 11 p.m. on Thursday and lasted for several hours. It included at least 122 missiles and 36 drones, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

At least 41 people were killed and about 160 were injured, Ukrainian officials said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it’s “never seen so many locations targeted simultaneously.”

ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Edward Szekeres contributed to this story.

 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.