Russian drone strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed at least 14 people and injured 121 others on Friday, including 22 children, local authorities said, in one of the latest deadly attacks as Moscow intensifies its aerial campaign against Ukraine.The strike hit a shopping centre in the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said Russia carried out what appeared to be a “double-tap” attack, with a second wave of drones arriving as emergency workers responded to the initial strike.“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy said on social media, as rescue teams continued searching the damaged site.Deadly strikes intensify across UkraineKryvyi Rih has repeatedly come under Russian attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. One of the city’s deadliest strikes came in April 2025, when 20 people, including nine children, were killed.Friday’s attack came a day after Russia launched a major overnight barrage against Kyiv and surrounding areas, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens. The attack lasted for hours and involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.Ukrainian officials said 38,000 people, including more than 2,000 children, took shelter in Kyiv’s underground stations during the barrage. Residential buildings, a school, a children’s hospital and a kindergarten were among the sites damaged.Zelenskyy said Russia had been preparing the attack for some time and had combined different types of missiles and drones to cause widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down or suppressed 107 of 135 Russian drones launched overnight. A separate Russian drone strike in the Kharkiv region killed two women, aged 73 and 66, and injured two others, according to regional authorities.The repeated attacks have also renewed concerns over Ukraine’s limited air-defence capacity. Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to Western allies for additional US-made Patriot interceptors, which are among the few systems capable of defending against Russia’s ballistic missiles.Ukraine hits targets deep inside RussiaWhile Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities, Kyiv has continued its campaign of long-range drone strikes against targets inside Russia.Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600km from the Ukrainian border, as well as the Marinovka military airfield in Russia’s Volgograd region. Russian officials confirmed damage at an unspecified industrial facility in Perm, while Russian outlet Astra reported that a Lukoil-operated refinery caught fire.Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure in an effort to disrupt fuel production and exports.Russia’s Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences intercepted 325 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions and Crimea.The escalating exchange of long-range attacks has also raised concerns beyond Ukraine. Poland, Romania and Moldova reported heightened airspace activity linked to the fighting, with aircraft and air-defence systems deployed in response to potential threats near their borders.
