Russian attacks on Ukraine kill two, set private homes on fire

Russian forces launched a large attack early on Tuesday on Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing a 41-year-old man, injuring at least 18 people and triggering a number of fires, the regional governor said.

Ivan Fedorov said two children were among the injured. Pictures posted by the governor online showed firefighters battling blazes in private homes and other buildings.

In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's emergency services reported a fire covering an area of 35m2 in three residential buildings and in a service station.

According to preliminary reports, Fedorov said, Russian forces had carried out 10 strikes from multiple rocket launch systems, damaging 10 blocks of flats and 12 private homes.

“I heard some distant explosions, far away, so we went to sleep. Then there was a super strong explosion which blew out our windows,” Zaporizhzhia resident Oleksii, 35, told Reuters.

“I immediately went outside and ran to my neighbours to extinguish the fire. I was so worried about them.”

Other Ukrainian cities in the centre, south and east of the country came under attack as Russian troops launched more than 100 drones and about 150 glide bombs overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

One person was killed in the southern Mykolaiv region. Two people were injured in the city of Kharkiv in the northeast, according to regional officials.

In the central Kyiv region, a large retail logistical centre was hit, with thick columns of dark smoke rising into the sky and firefighters battling the blaze.

“This is precisely the sort of aerial terror against which Ukraine is calling for joint defence,” Zelensky said in a post on the X platform.

“Now is the time to implement the joint protection of our European skies with a multilayered air defence system.”

So far this month, Russia has launched more than 3,500 drones of different types, nearly 190 missiles and more than 2,500 aerial bombs, Zelensky said.

Reuters