Russia struck Ukraine’s industrial heartland overnight, killing four people, while a separate attack in the north disrupted electricity supplies for tens of thousands, Ukrainian officials said.
Missiles, drones and artillery targeted industrial facilities in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
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The attacks hit four districts, killing four people and injuring six others in Dnipro. Mr Hanzha said a business and warehouse complex were heavily damaged.
With the front line largely frozen more than four and a half years into Russia’s war in Ukraine, both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly targeted businesses, ports, logistics hubs and other economic infrastructure in recent months in an effort to weaken the other side’s war machine.
Businesses were also damaged in Pavlohrad and Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Hanzha said.
In neighbouring Chernihiv region, a Russian strike on an energy facility left almost 100,000 consumers without electricity, according to the regional power distribution company.
Russia also launched a “massive” assault on the central Poltava region, striking an industrial enterprise and a critical infrastructure facility, Governor Vitalii Diakivnych said.
In Russia, Ukrainian drones struck civilian targets in the Volga-region Samara area, the local governor said. One person was killed and four were injured. Samara is home to strategically important facilities, including oil refineries.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said air-defence units had destroyed 297 drones over several regions overnight.
Kallas calls for continued sanctions on Russia
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called on member states to preserve sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, as governments worked to secure an extension of the measures.
“Sanctions are a core pillar of our response to Russia’s war” because they restrict the Kremlin’s access to funding, she told reporters in New York after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas was speaking ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Ms Kallas said officials hoped to conclude negotiations on renewing the sanctions soon and implement the extension without delay.
“We need to have this stability,” she said, arguing that the sanctions should remain in force for a longer period while speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
She said the EU’s position remained unchanged and confirmed that officials were also preparing another package of sanctions. “That’s why we are also working on a new package of sanctions,” Ms Kallas said.
Discussions were continuing, however, after some member states called for certain individuals to be removed from the bloc’s blacklist.
EU governments failed yesterday to reach a final agreement that would have removed Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the sanctions list.
France and Slovakia pushed for Alisher Usmanov to be removed from the blacklist
Talks were expected to continue in Brussels as the bloc sought to renew sanctions on almost 3,000 other people and entities linked to the war.
The 27-member EU was racing to secure an agreement before the sanctions-extension deadline later today.
France and Slovakia advocated removing Russian-Uzbek billionaire Mr Usmanov from the blacklist.
Luxembourg seized on France’s position, arguing that any decision to lift sanctions on Mr Usmanov should also apply to Mr Fridman.
Several diplomats had earlier said member states reached a provisional compromise to remove both men from the EU list.
That agreement failed to win final approval after Latvia raised a last-minute objection, according to a diplomat.
Ukraine reacted angrily to the prospect of the EU dropping sanctions against the two prominent Russian businessmen.
Other member states, including Poland and countries in the Baltic region, also strongly opposed easing the measures, saying pressure on Moscow should instead be increased.
Yesterday, Ms Kallas warned that Europe was facing “a fast proliferation of sabotage attacks and airspace violations.”
“Moscow is trying to scare Europe into winding down its support for Ukraine,” she said. “As Russia is willing to take greater risks, we also need to impose greater costs.”
“Russia’s economy is one of its weakest parts,” she added.
