Five killed in Russian air attacks on Ukraine
Fire and smoke rise at the site of a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Brovary, in Kyiv region, Ukraine March 14, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing five people and causing damage across several regions of the country, Ukrainian officials said.
The main target was energy infrastructure outside the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, adding that residential buildings, schools and businesses were also damaged.
He said the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions were also targeted in an attack that included around 430 drones and 68 missiles, most of which were downed by air defences.
The governor of the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, Ivan Fedorov, said a residential area of the city of Zaporizhzhia had been hit by Russian-guided bombs, killing one person and injuring three. Photos posted online showed parts of buildings reduced to rubble.
Saturday's strikes come as the Iran conflict has distracted international attention from a US-backed peace push in the four-year war, which Kyiv says Moscow has no interest in ending.
"Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine," Zelenskiy wrote on X.
Efforts to deal with the aftermath of the massive Russian attack are currently underway in the Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mykolaiv regions. All necessary services are involved. The main target for the Russians was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region, but… pic.twitter.com/ddqRUmQFkt
He repeated his call for Kyiv's partners to boost production of air-defence weapons, stocks of which have been diminishing as the US and its allies in the Gulf have fended off Iranian strikes.
'No way Russia will stop'
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Ukraine's forces have targeted Russian strategic infrastructure such as oil refineries, depots and terminals in long-range strikes.
Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Saturday that consumers in six regions were without electricity after the overnight strikes and Russian shelling of frontline areas.
"There's no way Russia will stop," said local resident Natalia Fetko, 57, whose building was damaged in the strike. "Nothing is enough for them."
Four people died in the Kyiv region surrounding the capital, where 15 people were wounded and damage was recorded in four districts, according to regional military administrator Mykola Kalashnyk.
Saturday's attack also prompted NATO member Poland to scramble jets to protect its airspace, but no violations were observed, Warsaw's military said.
In Moldova, on Ukraine's western border, the Foreign Ministry denounced what it said was an intrusion by a Russian drone into its airspace in a border district, saying Moscow's actions undermined regional security and posed a danger to its citizens.