The night Ukraine launched more drones than Russia. Casualties after the attacks from both camps
Russian drone attacks killed three people in Ukraine on Sunday, mainly in the southern port region of Odesa, and one person died near Moscow following Ukrainian strikes, according to authorities in both countries, AFP and Reuters.
In April, Russia targeted Ukraine with a record number of long-range drone strikes, while negotiations to end the conflict triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion are at a standstill.
Kiev is also striking targets in Russia, ensuring that it targets military targets as well as energy infrastructure to reduce the possibility of Moscow financing its war effort.
New attack on the city of Odessa
Russian attacks in the Odesa region, home to important port infrastructure, killed two people, including a truck driver, regional governor Oleg Kiper announced on social media.
“Enemy drones hit three residential buildings and two others were damaged. Port facilities and equipment were also damaged,” he said.
Russian attacks on the Kherson border region in southern Ukraine also left one dead, according to local authorities.
Between Saturday night and Sunday, Russia launched 268 drones and one ballistic missile, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Ukrainian drones targeted several regions of Russia
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced, for its part, on Sunday morning that it shot down 334 Ukrainian drones during the night, a particularly high number.
Air defense systems have intercepted Ukrainian drones in fifteen regions, some of them far from the front, including around the two most populous cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
A Ukrainian drone strike killed a 77-year-old man in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.
The Ukrainian attack was particularly intense, with 59 drones shot down, according to the local governor, in the Leningrad region, whose capital is St. Petersburg, where ports crucial to trade across the Baltic Sea are located. No immediate casualties were reported in this region.
Russian tankers hit by drones, Zelenski announces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said two ships from Russia's “ghost fleet”, which allow Moscow to export its oil by circumventing Western sanctions, had been hit off the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.
He released black-and-white footage, shot using a night vision camera, showing a naval drone approaching one of the tankers. The Ukrainian leader did not provide information on the extent of the damage.
As diplomatic efforts stall to resolve Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II, Moscow has proposed a truce on May 9, the day Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Kiev said it was looking into the proposal.
