A Russian drone attack on a market in southern Ukraine has killed five people and injured 21, including a 14-year-old girl, the prosecutor general’s office says.
The attack took place at 09:50 (06.50 GMT) in the town of Nikopol, across the Dnipro river from land occupied by Russia since their full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Pictures published by the regional prosecutor show smashed market kiosks strewn with metal and glass.
It comes after at least 15 civilians were killed in drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on Friday.
Meanwhile a drone and missile attack by Ukraine on the southern Russian city of Taganrog overnight killed at least one person and seriously injured four, Russia said.
Ukraine’s Nikopol frequently comes under fire, and almost half of the town’s 100,000 residents left long ago for safety.
But these drones hit in the middle of Saturday morning – in a busy spot – and the number of casualties is high.
Two men were injured in a second strike on the same location, the prosecutor said, adding that the attacks were being investigated as a war crime.
Russia launched almost 300 drones against Ukraine again overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, and casualties were also reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the northern Sumy region.
Meanwhile Moscow said it had shot down 85 Ukrainian drones.
Rostov regional governor Yuri Slyusar said the attack in Taganrog had caused a fire to break out in the premises of a logistics company in the city.
A Ukrainian defence ministry official blamed the casualties on “Russian air defence operations”.
Kyiv also reported two attacks on factories it said were used by the Russian military industrial complex.
The defence official said a “massive attack” was carried out on a plant in Togliatti that produced synthetic rubber and petrochemical raw materials.
Later Ukraine’s Security Service said drone strikes had halted production at the Alchevsk metallurgical plant in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s Luhansk region.
As a result of the attack, the second in a month, blast furnaces, production shops and other key areas of the factory were damaged, the agency said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Russia a truce for the Easter holidays. But so far, Moscow is ignoring that.
Major daytime attacks by Russia, which were once rare, have been increasing.
On the other hand, a British intelligence assessment said that the situation on the frontline in the east was the “most favourable” for Ukraine in 10 months, as the advance of Russian troops appears to have slowed.
But at the same time diplomatic efforts to end the war, led by the US, have stalled since US President Donald Trump and his team shifted focus to the conflict in the Middle East.
Last week, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan - all of which have been targeted by Iranian aerial attacks.
He offered Ukraine’s drone technology and expertise, while seeking assistance against Russian missile attacks and new sources of fuel.
Surging global oil prices threaten Ukraine’s ability to fight, as Russia’s attacks on its energy infrastructure have left the country heavily dependent on fuel imports.
Source: BBC
--Agencies
