Overnight Russian strikes have claimed at least 16 lives in Ukraine, local authorities reported, following a new wave of attacks launched by Moscow. Since the conflict began four years ago, Moscow has almost nightly launched missiles and hundreds of drones against Ukraine, while Kyiv has responded with regular strikes inside Russia. The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia launched 659 drones and 44 missiles over the past 24 hours, with Ukrainian air defense units successfully intercepting 636 drones and 31 missiles.
These recent attacks occurred shortly after a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce concluded, a period both nations accused each other of widely violating. In the southern port city of Odesa, missile and drone attacks resulted in nine fatalities and 23 injuries, Serhiy Lysak, head of the city’s military administration, announced on Telegram on Thursday. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that strikes on the capital, Kyiv, killed at least four people, including a 12-year-old child. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko added that at least 48 individuals were injured in Kyiv. Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration, confirmed on Telegram that three people died and 34 were wounded in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia’s Defence Ministry stated on Thursday that its overnight operations in Ukraine targeted production facilities for cruise missiles and drones, alongside energy infrastructure it claimed supplied Kyiv’s armed forces. Moscow characterized these attacks as a response to Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets within Russia. Meanwhile, Russian officials and media reported a significant Ukrainian overnight drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, which allegedly killed two children and caused a large fire. “A terrorist drone attack on residential buildings in Tuapse has claimed the lives of two minors aged five and 14,” Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram.
The widespread damage from these attacks was noted across Ukraine. EU Council chief Antonio Costa condemned Russia, accusing it of “deliberately terrorizing civilians” in Ukraine and describing the overnight strikes as a “horrendous attack against civilian targets.” Kyiv’s mayor confirmed that Russian air raids inflicted widespread damage across the Podilskyi, Obolonskyi, and Desnyanskyi districts. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine, in a Telegram post, detailed that blasts across the capital ignited buildings and cars, shattered windows, and damaged hotel facades. Debris from the attacks sparked fires in a residential building in Podilskyi, damaged a hotel, and led to a home’s collapse. Klitschko noted on Telegram that “A child and her mother were rescued from the rubble.” In the Obolonskyi district, an office building was damaged and cars were set ablaze. Klitschko reported that at least four medics were injured due to repeated shelling, and falling debris caused a fire in a two-story residential building in the Desnyanskyi district. Online images depicted uncontrolled fires and smoke billowing into the sky. Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine highlighted that the overnight casualties underscore Ukraine’s critical need for more interceptors, a problem President Zelenskyy is actively addressing by seeking additional supplies from Europe.
Diplomatic efforts have largely failed. In recent months, multiple rounds of US-brokered negotiations have failed to bring Russia and Ukraine closer to a peace agreement, stemming from Russia’s February 2022 invasion. The diplomatic process has further stalled since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, diverting Washington’s attention. Even prior to the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow, primarily due to disagreements over territorial issues. Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines. However, Russia has rejected this proposal, insisting on control over the entire Donetsk region, despite parts of it being under Ukrainian control—a demand Kyiv deems unacceptable.
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