Russia-Ukraine War: Seven Dead as Strikes and Aerial War Intensifies

Kyiv: Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday, officials said, as the aerial war between Moscow and Kyiv shows no signs of easing nearly four and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion began. Moscow has continued to pound Ukrainian territory with cruise and ballistic missiles, heavy glide bombs and jet-powered drones, even as front-line advances have slowed.

Two women were killed in Zaporizhzhia after becoming trapped beneath the rubble of their destroyed homes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes hit residential areas in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, as well as the Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, and warned that Russia was escalating its attacks daily, calling for a firmer international response to prevent the war from spreading further.

Ukraine also carried out retaliatory strikes deep inside Russian territory. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s long-range drones have targeted Russian oil refineries and businesses. A Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Krasnodar region killed three people and wounded two, local officials said Saturday.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences had intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones across multiple regions.

The exchange adds to a mounting civilian toll on both sides of the border in recent days, with Ukrainian officials continuing to report Russian strikes on populated areas even as Moscow claims to be intercepting the bulk of Kyiv's drone attacks. The intensifying aerial campaign comes despite continued diplomatic efforts, including recent mediation attempts, to bring the two countries toward a ceasefire, with no breakthrough yet in sight as the war grinds into its fifth year.