Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 12 people overnight and wounded dozens, Kyiv said, accusing Moscow of launching North Korean missiles in the raid. The allegation follows warnings from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday that Moscow is receiving more ballistic projectiles and troops from its ally, Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has already sent thousands of troops and plentiful supplies of weapons to support Putin’s four-year invasion. Zelenskyy stated that Russia aims to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors, a vulnerability that worsened after US diplomacy to end the war stalled and Washington turned its attention to the Iran war.
“Every step Russia takes – increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilisation – all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media.
The southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia was worst hit in the overnight barrage, with at least six people killed and at least 19 wounded. Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional military administration, posted photos showing buildings and vehicles ablaze. Zelenskyy described the event as a “vicious attack, calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure,” noting the use of North Korean ballistic missiles, Zircons, and guided aerial bombs.
All those killed in Zaporizhzhia were employees of the Zaporizhstal steel plant. “The ballistic strike caught employees on their way to shelter immediately after the air alert was announced,” the plant stated, adding that “another 21 of our colleagues were wounded.”
Six additional people were killed overnight in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, officials confirmed. In the capital, Kyiv, Zelenskyy reported that an infectious diseases hospital was hit, while strikes on the frontline cities of Kherson and Kharkiv caused widespread power outages.
Elsewhere, in the southern city of Mykolaiv, a Russian drone attack injured a 75-year-old woman, according to the regional military administration. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed its overnight strikes targeted defence industry facilities and transport and logistics centres in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.
In Russia, an overnight Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured two in the Voronezh region, where falling debris triggered fires at warehouse facilities, according to regional governor Alexandr Gusev. While Gusev did not specify the exact facility, the online retailer Wildberries reported that its logistics sites in Voronezh had been evacuated.
Russian air defence units destroyed 15 drones over the city of Voronezh and five districts of the region, Gusev added. Russia has significantly stepped up ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as Ukraine continues to escalate strikes deep inside Russian territory.