Russia and Ukraine traded heavy overnight strikes, leaving civilians dead and wounded on both sides, according to local authorities. The latest escalation underscores Moscow's continued reliance on long-range bombardment, even as Kyiv pushes back with its own drone operations deep into Russian territory.
In Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones hit multiple cities, including the capital region, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kherson, and parts of the eastern Donbas. Ukrainian officials reported 13 dead and roughly 90 injured over the past 24 hours. Among the victims were a three-year-old boy and his grandparents in the Kyiv region, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the strikes as targeting civilian infrastructure.
Kharkiv and Odesa bear the brunt
In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, a Russian missile struck a high-rise apartment block in the Saltivskyi district, killing three people and wounding 37, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Emergency crews worked through the night to extinguish fires and pull survivors from the rubble.
Odesa, Ukraine's main Black Sea port, also came under fire. Regional administrator Oleh Kiper said “dozens of missiles and drones” hit the city and its surroundings, injuring eight people. The attacks come as Ukraine continues to rely on its grain export corridor, a vital economic lifeline.
Elsewhere, at least six more deaths were reported in strikes on frontline cities, including Sumy, Kherson, and Donetsk, where fighting has been relentless for months.
Zelenskyy renews plea for air defence
In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy called for more international pressure on Russia, including new sanctions to curb its production of ballistic missiles. He also reiterated his urgent request for additional air defence systems, specifically Patriot, SAMP/T, NASAMS, and HAWK interceptors, as well as F-16 fighter jets.
“More pressure is needed — new sanctions that will prevent Russia from producing these ballistic missiles. And our people absolutely need more protection,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Ukraine has long faced a critical shortage of interceptors for its US-made Patriot systems, the only air defence capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. The scarcity has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has diverted supplies. Zelenskyy has lobbied Washington and European allies for months, and has also floated the idea of producing Patriot ammunition domestically or gaining permission from Elon Musk to use Starlink to guide strikes against Russian missile launchers.
Russian border regions hit by Ukrainian drones
On the Russian side, the regional administration of Belgorod said Ukrainian drone attacks killed five people and injured two dozen others, including a four-year-old boy. The strikes damaged 29 apartment blocks, five private houses, and administrative buildings, according to local officials.
In Novorossiysk, a key Russian port on the Black Sea, debris from Ukrainian drones fell on two enterprises and a private home, said mayor Andrey Kravchenko. Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces shot down 153 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Kyiv has stepped up long-range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and other targets, including the online retailer Wildberries, contributing to fuel shortages in some regions. The Russian defence ministry said its own overnight strikes hit drone warehouses in the Kharkiv region and fuel depots near Odesa.
The continued exchanges come as European leaders weigh new measures against Moscow. The US Senate has passed sweeping sanctions targeting Russian energy revenues, and the EU has added five more Russians to its sanctions list over strikes on Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, Ukraine's drone sector remains resilient, as recent changes in the defence ministry have not slowed production.
As the war enters another winter, the civilian toll continues to mount. The pattern of nightly bombardments, followed by morning counts of the dead and wounded, has become a grim routine for Ukrainians. For Moscow, the strikes are a reminder that its air campaign can still inflict pain, but they also underscore the limits of a strategy that has failed to break Ukrainian resolve.
