Russia strikes Ukraine injuring 8 as Moscow, Kyiv trade threats

Russian airstrikes hit apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine’s Kyiv and Odesa regions overnight and into Wednesday morning, injuring at least eight people including a child, local officials said.Ukraine’s Air Force said Kyiv and Odesa were among the regions worst hit in the latest wave of Russian attacks, the Associated Press reported.Russia launched 174 attack drones, including around half jet-powered drones, along with two ballistic missiles and two air-launched missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said.The strikes caused significant damage in Odesa, where several floors of a 24-storey residential building were destroyed.Officials in the southern Odesa region said eight people, including a child, were injured in the attack. Several office buildings and two educational facilities were also damaged, while power outages disrupted electric public transport across the city.In the Kyiv region, a man and a woman suffered shrapnel injuries during morning attacks, regional military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.Kyiv came under attack for the seventh consecutive day, although Wednesday’s strikes were less intense than those in previous days. A warehouse caught fire, while an educational facility and a medical practice were also damaged.The latest strikes came as the Russia-Ukraine war entered its fifth year, with fighting along the eastern and southern front lines largely stalemated and US-led efforts to broker a peace agreement yet to produce a breakthrough.Putin, Zelenskyy trade threatsRussian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exchanged threats late Tuesday, raising concerns over a possible escalation.Zelenskyy warned international airlines that Russian airspace could become increasingly unsafe as Ukraine expands its long-range drone campaign.“Russian airspace will effectively be closing,” he said, adding that the strikes were aimed at pressuring Moscow to accept peace negotiations.Putin accused Zelenskyy of engaging in “state terrorism” and said, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin also addressed reports that Ukrainian forces had used British-made drones to strike targets inside Russia.Asked whether Moscow could target British military facilities if the UK continues supplying weapons to Ukraine, Putin did not rule it out. With a slight smile, he said the answer was “a military secret,” the AP reported.China and North Korea have provided military support to Russia, while Iran has also backed Moscow in previous years.The exchange came as European officials considered measures in response to what they described as a broader Russian campaign of sabotage and disruption aimed at weakening support for Ukraine.Germany on Tuesday accused Russia of being behind an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month involving a drone reportedly carrying explosives.Russia reports Ukrainian drone attacksRussia’s defence ministry said its air defences shot down 130 Ukrainian drones overnight across 11 Russian regions, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea.In Russia’s Belgorod region, Ukrainian drone strikes killed two people and injured 16, acting Governor Alexander Shuvayev said. He added that the region had come under attack 140 times over a 24-hour period.Ukraine has increasingly used domestically produced long-range drones to target facilities inside Russia, including oil installations and warehouses operated by online retailers.Kyiv has said the attacks are intended to pressure Russia’s economy and make the impact of the war more visible to the Russian public.Russia’s push to capture more Ukrainian territory has lost momentum, according to Western officials and military analysts.The Institute for the Study of War said Russian territorial gains in August were only a fraction of those recorded during the same month last year.The Washington-based think tank said Russia’s spring and summer offensive had failed to break through Ukrainian defensive lines. “Russian gains remain slow and limited,” it added.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.