Seven Killed as Russia and Ukraine Trade Strikes Overnight
Four people were killed in Ukraine, two of them women trapped under the rubble of their destroyed home in Zaporizhzhia and two in Sumy, with four more injured across Kyiv districts. Three were killed and two wounded in Russia’s Krasnodar region by a Ukrainian drone attack, with fires at two industrial sites and Russian media later reporting a local oil refinery as the target. Russia’s defence ministry said its Kyiv strike damaged a data centre supporting mobile internet and Starlink for Ukrainian forces.
The target sets are converging on each other’s infrastructure, which is exactly what the limited ceasefire under discussion this week was meant to stop: Ukraine hitting refineries, Russia hitting the systems that keep Ukrainian communications alive. Mr Zelensky’s appeal on Saturday morning was aimed less at Moscow than at his backers: “It is essential that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating every single day. If the Russians have chosen to make their strikes even more brutal, the world must choose stronger responses to keep the war from spreading further.” Washington has proposed technical-level trilateral talks and floated the United Arab Emirates as a venue, and the Kremlin says a meeting could happen in the near future with no details settled. No date exists. Watch whether one is fixed before the grid comes under winter pressure.