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Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones across Ukraine early Saturday, killing at least five people in what Ukrainian officials described as retaliation for recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases.
The Ukrainian air force reported Russia fired 206 drones and nine missiles in the overnight assault, with some sources indicating the total reached 215 missiles and drones.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 87 drones and seven missiles, while another 80 drones were neutralized through electronic warfare.
Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv came under what Mayor Igor Terekhov called "the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war."
The northeastern city, located approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Russian border, was home to 1.4 million people before the conflict began.
The Russian strikes hit residential buildings and apartment blocks in Kharkiv, killing at least three people and wounding between 17 and 22 others, according to various official reports. Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov said the wounded included two children, with one victim being a one-and-a-half-month-old baby.
"Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war," Terekhov said on Telegram early Saturday. He reported that dozens of explosions were heard throughout the night as Russian forces struck simultaneously with missiles, drones, and guided aerial bombs.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov said one civilian industrial facility was attacked by 40 drones, one missile, and four bombs, causing a fire. He added that there may still be people under the rubble.
In the southern city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed a couple and damaged two high-rise buildings, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Attacks were also recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Ternopil regions. In the western city of Lutsk, near the Polish border, rescuers discovered a second fatality from strikes a day earlier, described as a woman in her 20s.
In Chernihiv, two people died in an attack on an industrial enterprise. Emergency crews recovered two bodies from the rubble of the wrecked facility.
Russian forces struck industrial facilities and infrastructure in Ternopil, leaving parts of the city without power. Mayor Serhii Nadal said the attack injured 10 people, and authorities asked residents to stay inside due to high concentrations of toxic substances in the air following a fire.
The aerial bombardments came days after Ukraine launched attacks well beyond the frontlines, damaging nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases and prompting vows of revenge from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian military sources said they had launched preemptive strikes on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs.
In what was described as one of the most audacious attacks of the three-year war, Ukrainian operatives destroyed some of Russia's strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadrocopter drones hidden in wooden sheds.
Russia's defense ministry said Saturday that its forces had downed 36 Ukrainian drones fired at its territory.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for increased pressure on Russia, writing on social media: "To put an end to Russia's killing and destruction, more pressure on Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine. Russia is a terrorist state, and it must be called such. It has already done more than enough to earn this title."
US President Donald Trump commented on the attacks, telling reporters aboard Air Force One, "They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night," when asked about how Ukraine's earlier drone strikes had affected the conflict.
After a phone conversation with Putin on Wednesday, Trump said the Kremlin was planning an unspecified response to the Ukrainian attack on Russian air bases.
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