Russian strike on Ukraine’s Kyiv region kills at least 4 and injures more than a dozen

KYIV, Ukraine — A combined missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region killed at least four people and wounded at least 15 on Saturday night, according to the head of the Ukrainian capital’s regional administration.

Mykola Kalashnik reported on Saturday that three of the injured were in critical condition, two of whom underwent surgery. The attack hit four districts, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, industries and critical infrastructure, Kalashnik added in a social media post.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the main target of the overnight strikes was “the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region”. He said Russia launched 430 drones of various types and 68 missiles overnight.

The strikes came days after the US postponed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine scheduled for this week, citing the war in the Middle East.

As US and Israeli missiles and bombs rain down on Iran, Russia has responded with words of outrage but no action to support its ally. Moscow’s failure to help another ally after the ouster of former Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in 2024 and the US arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January have highlighted the limits of its influence – but the Kremlin expects to reap benefits from the Iran war.

Russia is already benefiting from a rise in global energy prices, and a Middle East war can be expected to draw attention away from Ukraine and deplete Western arsenals.

Zelenskyy on Saturday called on Kyiv’s Western partners to pay “one hundred percent attention” to the need to increase production of air defense missiles.

“Russia will try to use the war in the Middle East to cause even more destruction in Europe, Ukraine,” he posted on social media.

“We must fully realize the real level of the threat and prepare accordingly, namely: in Europe, we need to develop the production of air defense missiles – especially the ability to counter ballistic threats – as well as all the systems necessary to really protect lives,” he said.

Zelensky said on Thursday that Kyiv was awaiting White House approval for a major drone production deal proposed by Ukraine last year, as the countries scrambled to modernize their air defenses after the Iran war exposed flaws.

Zelenskyy on Thursday criticized the 30-day US waiver of Russian oil sanctions amid war in the Middle East, saying it was “not the right decision” and would not help stop Russia’s 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

“This easing of the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelensky said. “It certainly doesn’t help peace.”

On Saturday night, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery and port in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, local Russian officials reported.

Krasnodar officials said three people were injured in the strike at Port Kavkaz, a port opposite Crimea used to ship liquefied natural gas and grain. The service vessel and pier infrastructure were damaged, he added in a post on Telegram.

Debris from the falling drone sparked a fire at the Afipski oil refinery in the area, officials said in a separate Telegram post. He said no one was injured, but did not immediately comment on the damage.

Earlier this week, both Russian and Ukrainian officials defended the frontline progress, saying Ukraine had pushed back Moscow’s forces in frontline positions, and the Kremlin insisted that Russia’s offensive on its neighborhood was making progress.