Ukraine is calling for more sanctions and asset freezes on Russia as it fends off intensified attacks, with another harsh winter of war looming.
At least 11 people have been killed, and more parts of Ukraine have been plunged into darkness, after another night of intense Russian attacks across the country, local authorities said, as diplomatic momentum to end the nearly four-year war falters.
Ukraine’s military announced on Saturday morning that hundreds of Russian drones, as well as missiles launched from the air, ground and sea, targeted critical infrastructure, a frequent Kremlin target as another harsh winter of war looms.
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Ukraine said its air force detected 503 air attacks, including 45 missiles and 458 drones, launched by Russian forces overnight. Most of the missiles went through defences, with only nine successfully shot down, but 406 of the drones were intercepted.
The Russian attacks concentrated mostly on gas and power infrastructure, leading to power cuts in several regions.
In the front-line Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said three people were killed and six wounded in overnight Russian attacks on several districts, which hit a residential building, among other targets.
Two more people were reported killed in two districts of Donetsk, according to local authorities. Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson, reported another two people killed and 10 wounded after several multistorey buildings, private homes and vehicles were hit.
Kyiv Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said an attack in the Vyshhorod district injured a woman and hit civilian areas and energy infrastructure.
At least three people were killed and 11 others, including children, wounded after a Russian strike hit a building in the eastern region of Dnipro, local authorities said.
A “massive” strike was reported by Governor Volodymyr Kohut in the Poltava region, where another person was injured and rolling blackouts are in place to compensate for damaged power infrastructure.
‘More pressure is needed’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed a call for further sanctions on Russia and freezing its assets in the European Union before winter, saying “Russian strikes show that the pressure must be stronger.
“Russian nuclear energy is still not under sanctions, Russian military-industrial complex still receives Western microelectronics, more pressure is needed on oil and gas trade as well,” he said in a statement.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed in its latest combat report overnight that it launched a “massive strike with high-precision long-range weapons from air, land and sea platforms”, including hypersonic ballistic missiles.
It said Russian air defences brought down two guided aerial bombs and 178 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Ukrainian forces. Another eight drones were reportedly shot down before noon on Saturday.
Fierce house-to-house fighting also continues to rage in Pokrovsk, the city in Donetsk where tens of thousands of Russian troops have converged to push for control of more territory and to “liberate” buildings held for more than a year by Ukrainian soldiers, in intense close-range clashes.
Ukraine’s top general Oleksandr Syrskii said Kyiv’s troops were stepping up assaults on Russian forces around the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillia to ease pressure on Pokrovsk.
