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Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations Over Overnight Strikes

Kyiv: Ukraine and Russia on Saturday accused each other of carrying out overnight airstrikes that resulted in significant casualties and damage. Ten people were reported dead, and ten others injured in Ukrainian territory, while one person was injured in Russia.

According to Anadolu Agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia deployed 29 missiles and 480 drones, predominantly Shahed types, against Ukraine overnight. Ukraine's Air Defense Ministry stated that 19 missiles and 453 drones were intercepted and destroyed during the attack.

In the city of Kharkiv, a residential building suffered severe destruction, leading to the death of seven individuals and injuring ten others, including children. The search for survivors continued, with Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov later confirming that three additional bodies were found under the rubble.

Zelenskyy detailed that the strikes targeted energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions, along with the railway in the Zhytomyr region. Reports of damage extended to the Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, and Cherkasy regions. Ukraine's Energy Ministry noted this incident marked the fifth major missile and drone attack on the nation's energy facilities since the year began, leading to power outages across seven regions, including Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, and Kharkiv.

The impact of the assault was also felt in Kyiv, where Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported disruptions to the city's heat supply, affecting 2,700 homes.

On the Russian front, the Defense Ministry claimed its air defense systems managed to intercept and destroy 124 Ukrainian UAVs. In the Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev relayed on social media platform Max that a drone crash resulted in injuries to one person.

Efforts to independently verify these claims remain challenging amid the ongoing conflict.