Russia launched a wave of drones and missiles against Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and damaging residential buildings and energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said. In Poltava, a missile struck an apartment block, killing 11 and wounding 16, including four children. In Kharkiv, one person died and four were wounded in a drone attack, while three police officers were killed in the Sumy region.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again appealed for more air defences, stating the attacks showed Ukraine needs more support. The Institute for the Study of War noted that Russia is likely leveraging ballistic missiles, which Ukraine has limited means to intercept.
Separately, a Russian strike on a boarding school in Sudzha, Kursk region, killed at least four people. Ukraine said the school housed civilians preparing for evacuation. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack.
In other incidents, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one civilian in Russia's Belgorod region, and an explosion at an army recruitment centre in Rivne killed one and wounded six. A man with a rifle killed a recruitment soldier before being caught.
Moscow claimed its forces had captured the village of Krymske near Toretsk, which could threaten Ukrainian supply routes. The US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, said Washington wants Ukraine to hold elections, potentially by year-end, if a truce is reached. Zelenskyy warned that excluding Ukraine from US-Russia talks would be 'very dangerous'.
