Moscow and Kyiv trade blame over deadly overnight attacks

A massive wave of overnight drone and missile attacks has left at least six people dead and dozens injured as Russia and Ukraine launch some of their heaviest cross-border air strikes in recent weeks.

Moscow reported casualties across three distinct regions on Monday morning following what it described as intense Ukrainian strikes. In the Belgorod border region, local authorities confirmed that a civilian was killed, another was injured, and critical energy infrastructure was damaged during a combined missile and drone raid, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

Further north in the Bryansk region, an artillery strike on the village of Belaya Beryozka killed one person, injured another, and heavily damaged several apartment buildings, houses, and administrative structures. Meanwhile, in Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk, a localized drone strike tragically killed four people, including two minors.

Russia's Defense Ministry stated that its air defense units shot down 173 Ukrainian drones across 14 different regions, including annexed Crimea.

The Ukrainian Perspective: Kyiv countered with its own massive defense report. Ukraine’s General Staff accused Moscow of unleashing an extraordinary 262 drones overnight, claiming that Ukrainian forces successfully intercepted or electronically suppressed 246 of the incoming threats.

Despite the high interception rate, Russian strikes still inflicted significant civilian toll inside Ukraine. In the Kharkiv region, drone strikes targeted the city of Kharkiv and 21 surrounding settlements, injuring 18 people, including a child. To the northwest in the Sumy region, local officials reported that Russian attacks over the same 24-hour period killed one person and left four others injured.

Because of the active and widespread nature of the hostilities, independent verification of the specific damage and casualty claims from either side remains impossible.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada