Russia and Ukraine trade drone strikes as Zelenskyy calls on allies for ‘unwavering’ aid

(LONDON) — Ukrainian authorities said that at least 23 people were injured and 41 buildings damaged by a Russian missile strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight into Monday, as Moscow’s troops launched a fresh offensive effort in the region and claimed battlefield gains all along the eastern front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that the S-400 anti-aircraft missile impact in Kharkiv was part of a multi-pronged barrage against Ukrainian cities overnight. Kyiv, Odessa and Zaporizhzhia were all also targeted.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 145 drones, 71 of which were downed and 71 were lost during flight. One UAV flew into Belarusian airspace, the air force said.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed to have downed 23 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions. The ministry also said it downed eight ballistic missiles, though did not specify their type.

Vladislav Shapsha, the governor of Kaluga Oblast that borders Moscow Oblast to the southwest, said falling drone debris sparked a fire at a manufacturing facility. Ukraine’s General Staff, though, said its strikes destroyed the Kaluganefteproduct oil depot in the city of Kaluga.

“In total, since yesterday evening, Russia has used about one and a half hundred attack drones, aerial bombs and missiles against more than 10 of our regions,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram early Monday.

“These attacks by Russia on Ukrainian life can be stopped,” he added. “With pressure, sanctions, blocking the occupiers’ access to the components they use to create the tools of this terror, arms packages for Ukraine and a determination that must be unwavering.”

Only 19 miles from the Russian border, Ukraine’s “second city” of Kharkiv has faced near-constant attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022.

Russian forces failed to encircle and capture Kharkiv during the opening weeks of the invasion, but fighting has continued along the shared border throughout the conflict.

Ukraine’s General Staff said in a post to Facebook on Monday that Russian forces launched assaults the settlement of Kozacha Lopan, around 2 miles from the border and 16 miles north of Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian Deep State Telegram military blogger reported that Russian forces also launched an amphibious operation across the Oskil River in eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian troops have been pushing towards the strategic objective of Kupyansk.

The Russian force established a foothold on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the waterway, Deep State wrote. The blogger’s claims could not be immediately be verified.