Russian drone attack on Ukraine hits infrastructure, injures 7

Russia carried out an overnight drone attack on Ukrainian regions on Wednesday, hitting power infrastructure, damaging residential and commercial buildings, and injuring at least seven people, officials said.

Ukrainian air defences shot down 38 out of 42 Russian drones over eight regions across the country, the air force said. It is one of the largest Russian drone attacks on Ukraine in the past several weeks.

The air force said the Shahed kamikaze drones were downed over the south, centre, west, and northeast of the country. Air alerts in some regions lasted between two and four hours.

The Energy Ministry said a power infrastructure facility was hit in the western region of Kmelnytskyi, leaving more than 14,000 consumers in 30 settlements without electricity.

A power line was also hit in the Dnipropetrovsk region in the southeast, regional officials said.

The Russian forces have been repeatedly trying to strike Ukraine's energy system during the critical cold months.

The attacks have targeted various facilities - from power plants to district heating and electricity distribution. The World Bank has estimated the damage to Ukraine’s energy sector at about $12 billion.

Thanks to stronger air defence, warm weather, and repair efforts, Ukraine was able to go through this winter without major blackouts.

In Sumy in the northeast of the country, at least 13 residential houses, a kindergarten, and about 40 private cars were damaged as the result of the drone attack, regional officials said.

The General Prosecutor's office said that seven people, including a 10-year-old boy, were injured in Sumy.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a school building was damaged in the attack. Several private houses, a gas pipe, and commercial property were hit in the Odesa region in the south, regional officials said.