Ukraine and Russia exchanged another wave of overnight attacks, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Moscow of using North Korean ballistic missiles in strikes that killed at least six people in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Zelensky said the attacks, which also injured at least 19 people, demonstrated that Russia was increasingly relying on military support from North Korea.
“For the first time, Russia cannot wage war without reinforcements from North Korea,” he said in a video address, warning that the use of North Korean missiles and troops posed a broader international security threat.
The strikes came a day after at least 13 people, including a child, were killed in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s Tatarstan republic, more than 1,100 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Zaporizhzhia hit by missiles and guided bombs
Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian forces targeted industrial facilities, infrastructure and other non-residential buildings using missiles and guided bombs.
In Kyiv, air raid sirens sounded twice overnight, with explosions reported on the outskirts of the capital. Ukrainian officials said one person was injured and several fires were triggered.
Russian strikes also damaged a hospital in Kyiv, while attacks on electricity substations in Kherson and Kharkiv caused power outages.
In the northeastern city of Sumy, two women aged 52 and 66 were injured in a Russian drone strike that also damaged civilian vehicles, warehouses and infrastructure, local authorities said.
Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched 120 drones along with several types of missiles overnight, although they did not disclose the number of missiles fired or intercepted.
Ukraine strikes Russian logistics and energy targets
Ukraine also carried out strikes inside Russia, including attacks on warehouses belonging to Wildberries, the country’s largest online retailer, in the Voronezh region near the Ukrainian border.
Wildberries said its facilities had been evacuated following reports of explosions and fire at one of its logistics centres.
The company has been targeted repeatedly in recent weeks, with Kyiv arguing that such logistics hubs are used to supply equipment to the Russian military.
Zelensky also praised what he described as a successful Ukrainian strike on a Russian petrochemical plant in western Siberia, calling it a significant military achievement.
He vowed that Ukraine would continue conducting long-range strikes aimed at increasing pressure on Russia.
North Korea allegations
Zelensky has repeatedly accused Russia of receiving military assistance from North Korea, including missiles and troops.
Over the weekend, he claimed that as many as 50,000 North Korean soldiers could be sent to support Russian forces, although that figure has not been independently verified.
The latest escalation follows one of the deadliest attacks inside Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, when Ukrainian drones struck Tatarstan, reportedly hitting the Tanevo oil refinery.
Russian authorities said at least 75 people were injured, while the Uzbek consulate reported that seven Uzbek citizens were among those killed in the attack.
The renewed exchanges underscore the continued intensification of the war, with both sides increasingly targeting energy infrastructure, industrial facilities and logistics networks far from the front lines.
