KYIV, Ukraine — A missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region killed at least four people and wounded at least 15 overnight into Saturday, an official said, after the U.S. postponed Russia-Ukraine talks due to the war with Iran.
The attack hit four districts, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, enterprises and critical infrastructure, the head of the regional administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, wrote in a social media post. He said three of the wounded were critically injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the main target of the strikes was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region. He said Russia launched around 430 drones and 68 missiles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday said the nighttime strikes targeted energy and industrial facilities serving Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as military airfields.
Russia hopes to gain from the Iran war
The U.S. postponed its sponsored talks planned this week between the two sides due to its war in the Middle East.
As U.S. and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation — and there are reports it is providing intelligence to Iran to target the U.S. — but no clear action to support its ally. Moscow’s failure to help another ally, after the 2024 ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and January’s U.S. arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, highlighted the limits of its influence — but the Kremlin expects to reap benefits from the Iran war.
Russia is already profiting from a surge in global energy prices, and it may hope that the Mideast war will detract attention from Ukraine, deplete Western arsenals and force NATO allies to reduce military support for Kyiv. The United States announced Thursday it was suspending some sanctions on Russian oil.
Zelensky on Saturday called on Kyiv’s Western partners to pay “one hundred percent attention” to Ukraine’s need to boost the production of air defense missiles.
“Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine,” he said in a post on social media.
“We must be fully aware of the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defense missiles — especially those capable of countering ballistic threats — as well as all other systems necessary to truly protect lives,” he said.
Kyiv is also awaiting White House approval for a major drone production agreement proposed by Ukraine last year, Zelensky said Thursday, as countries scramble to modernize their air defenses after the Iran war exposed shortcomings.
Also on Thursday, Zelensky criticized the 30-day U.S. waiver on Russian oil sanctions because of the war in the Middle East, saying it is “not the right decision” and won’t help bring a stop to Russia’s more than four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelensky said. “This certainly does not help peace.”
Ukraine strikes southern Russia
Ukrainian drones hit an oil refinery and port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, local Russian officials reported.
Krasnodar authorities said three people were hurt in a strike on Port Kavkaz, opposite Russian-occupied Crimea in Ukraine, which is used to ship liquefied natural gas and grains. A service vessel and pier infrastructure were damaged, officials said, and one person was hospitalized.
Falling drone debris sparked a fire at the Afipsky oil refinery, one of the largest in southern Russia, authorities said in a Telegram post. They said no one was hurt but did not immediately comment on damage.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Ukraine’s General Staff said the refinery and port are used to supply Moscow’s armed forces. It added that it was assessing the impact of the strikes.
Among the Afipsky refinery’s products are diesel fuels and natural gasoline that can be used to make jet fuel or gasoline. It was targeted by Ukrainian drones before, including in January and November.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 87 Ukrainian drones during the night, including 16 over the Krasnodar region and 31 over the nearby Sea of Azov.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that 16 drones had been downed on the approach to the Russian capital on Saturday afternoon.
Earlier this week, Russian and Ukrainian officials both claimed front-line progress, with Ukraine saying it pushed Moscow’s forces back across places on the front line and the Kremlin contending that its troops are making progress.
Blann writes for the Associated Press.
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