Ukraine says 2 killed, 13 injured in Russian drone strikes in Kharkiv, Kherson regions

Ukraine said on Saturday that at least two people were killed and 13 others injured in Russian drone strikes in the southern Kherson and northeastern Kharkiv regions.

Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in an initial statement that a drone strike hit a minibus this morning in the Dniprovskyi district of the region’s administrative center.

“Two people died on the spot – a utility worker and a woman … Seven more people were injured – six men and one woman. Among them were four utility workers,” Prokudin said. All of the injured were taken to a hospital.

He later said a second strike struck another minibus in Kherson’s Tsentralnyi district, injuring one person, who was hospitalized.

Meanwhile, the Kherson Regional Military Administration said the number of injured in the initial attack rose to eight.

Separately, Ukraine’s Air Force claimed air defenses shot down 143 out of 162 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Port infrastructure targeted

In the southwestern Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said port infrastructure was targeted in the overnight attack.

“As a result of the hits, a warehouse and outbuildings were damaged. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries. Local fires that arose were extinguished by the personnel and units of the State Emergency Service,” Kiper added.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said that one person was injured after a drone struck a high-rise building in the regional capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district. He later said three others were injured in a drone attack, but gave no further details.

Elsewhere, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim reported power outages in his region’s administrative center following attacks on energy infrastructure.

"The Russians are trying to overwhelm our air defense with massive attacks, which is why the daily supply of interceptor missiles is critically important. It is equally important that pressure on the aggressor does not weaken, because any easing of existing sanctions only results in Russia’s war chest being replenished, which it then spends on the war," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media company X.

Energy facilities targeted

Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz said Russia used an aerial bomb to strike a gas pipeline in the Zaporizhzhia region, temporarily leaving consumers without gas.

“Repair teams are ready to begin restoration as soon as the security situation allows and are coordinating actions with the military,” the statement said.

Naftogaz added that Moscow has targeted its facilities in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions for a second consecutive day.

The company said a gas production facility in the Kharkiv region was hit a day earlier, causing equipment damage.

One person was injured in the shelling in the Dnipropetrovsk region, said the company without providing any details on when the attack occurred.

Naftogaz said its facilities have been attacked 99 times since the beginning of the year.

Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the claims, though the Defense Ministry claimed air defenses shot down 215 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions, as well as the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.