Russian strikes kill four in Ukraine as Kyiv drones hit Krasnodar

Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday, officials said, as the aerial war between Moscow and Kyiv intensified. At the same time, Ukrainian long-range drones struck Russia's southern Krasnodar region, where local officials said three people were killed and two were injured.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was stepping up its attacks and urged Ukraine's partners to respond more strongly. "It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day. If the Russians have chosen to make their strikes even more brutal, the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further," he wrote, while listing "numerous strikes on residential homes" in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, and the Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

In Zaporizhzhia, two women died after they were trapped under the rubble of their destroyed home, the regional military administration said. A separate Russian attack on Sumy killed two people, local officials said. In the Kyiv region, two people were injured overnight after a Russian drone attack caused a fire at a warehouse in the Boryspil district. Drones also hit several districts of the capital, injuring four people and damaging residential and office buildings, officials said.

Russia has repeatedly used cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs and drones as fighting on the front line has slowed. Speaking at the United Nations earlier this week, Zelenskyy appealed to countries to cut Russia's revenue through sanctions and trade bans, saying Moscow should be denied the money it needs to prolong the war. Despite years of diplomatic efforts, there has been no sign of a breakthrough.

In Russia, Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that a Ukrainian attack had sparked fires at two industrial sites, but gave no further details. Russian media later reported that a local oil refinery had been targeted. Russia's Ministry of Defence said its attack on Kyiv had damaged a data centre that supported both mobile internet services and Starlink satellite communications.

The latest exchanges underlined the continuing escalation in the air war, with deadly strikes reported in Ukraine and fresh drone hits inside Russia even as efforts to end the conflict remain stalled.

With PTI Inputs

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