Russian strikes kill six in Ukraine as Moscow intercepts hundreds of drones

What the report says

Russian attacks overnight killed at least six people in eastern Ukraine, according to local authorities cited by Al Jazeera, while Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences intercepted 605 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory and annexed Crimea. The strikes and counterstrikes underline the widening aerial campaign between the two countries.

In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, rescuers worked in Balakliya after drone strikes hit homes and killed three people, including two women and a man, officials said on Telegram. In the northern Sumy region, three more people were killed and at least 19 others wounded, with police reporting that 12 of the injured were in the city of Sumy after an attack involving guided aerial bombs. Additional Russian attacks wounded people in Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson, and authorities in Odesa said a foreign-flagged cargo ship carrying wheat was damaged in the Black Sea area, leaving one crew member dead.

Al Jazeera reported that the ship, identified by Ukrainian seaport officials as the Mera Queen, was struck late on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials have said Russia is stepping up attacks on Black Sea ports and export routes, which are important for grain shipments and trade.

On the Russian side, local authorities said a logistics centre linked to Wildberries, a major e-commerce company, suffered minor damage. Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces hit two oil refineries deep inside Russia, though Moscow had not immediately commented on that claim.