A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv has killed at least four people and wounded six, officials have said, just hours after Washington accused Moscow of “dangerous and inexplicable escalation” of the war, as a peace deal remains distant.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Tuesday that the death toll from the attack on the outskirts of the frequently targeted city, just 30km (19 miles) from the border with Russia, had risen to four.
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Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov also said that a Russian long-range drone struck a medical facility for children, causing a fire.
Separately, a Russian air attack targeted the capital, Kyiv, damaging energy infrastructure and forcing emergency power cuts amid freezing temperatures, according to officials.
The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said the aerial barrage was short but intense. Telegram channels monitoring Ukraine reported about 20 ballistic missiles launched within roughly an hour overnight.
Overall, Russia launched 293 drones and 18 missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. The country’s air defence units shot down 240 of the drones and seven of the missiles, it said.
In a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said hundreds of thousands of homes in the Kyiv region were without power in the wake of the Russian attack, and that the government was working to offer emergency services.
“As always, wherever Russia tries to destroy, Ukrainians support one another, and internal resilience is what is most needed right now,” said Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, unidentified drones hit two Greek-owned oil tankers in the Black Sea, at least one of which had been due to bring Kazakh oil to a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on Russia’s coast, according to Kazakh state energy firm KazMunayGas.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy said no crew members were injured.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the attacks. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the CPC terminal during the nearly four-year war, including a naval drone strike last November that damaged one of its three mooring points.
The flurry of attacks came shortly after the United States accused Russia of escalating the war, as US President Donald Trump was pushing hard to bring an end to the conflict.
In comments at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, Tammy Bruce, the US’s deputy ambassador to the UN, said Russia’s “inexplicable escalation” of the conflict risked “expanding and intensifying the war”.
“At a moment of tremendous potential, due only to President Trump’s unparalleled commitment to peace around the world, both sides should be seeking ways to de-escalate,” Bruce said.
The US expressed particular alarm about Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable Oreshnik ballistic missile last week, which resulted in a “staggering number of casualties” in Ukraine.
Ukraine called for the UNSC meeting after Russia bombarded the country last Thursday with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including the Oreshnik missile.
The attack was only the second time Russia had launched the powerful Oreshnik missile in a combat scenario, and its use was widely interpreted as a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies.
The attack came just days after Ukraine and its Western allies announced progress in an agreement to defend the country from further Russian attacks if a ceasefire is agreed upon, including a proposal for France and the United Kingdom to deploy troops to Ukraine. Russia rejected the plans, saying any troops sent to Ukraine by Western governments would be “legitimate combat targets”.
On Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said the target struck by the Oreshnik missile last week was a Ukrainian aircraft repair plant in Lviv. It described the plant, near the Polish border, as having been disabled in the attack.
Russia said the missile was fired in response to a recent attempted drone attack by Ukraine on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, a claim that Kyiv has denied and the US has dismissed as inaccurate.