Three killed in overnight attacks on Russian, Ukrainian port cities

What the report says

Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight drone and missile attacks that killed three people in total, according to regional and local officials cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters. The strikes hit Ukraine’s southern Kherson region and the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk, with additional damage reported in occupied Crimea, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa. The incidents come amid a wider pattern of attacks on ports, logistics sites and energy infrastructure tied to the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In Novorossiysk, Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said a Ukrainian drone attack killed a child, injured another child and a woman, and damaged dozens of buildings, including homes. The city’s grain terminal was also hit, according to its owner, Demetra Holding. Regional governor Veniamin Kondratyev said eight people were injured across the Krasnodar region. Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 502 Ukrainian drones overnight.

In Ukraine, regional chief Oleksandr Prokudin said a Russian Shahed drone strike killed two people in Kherson and wounded at least two others. In Zaporizhzhia, governor Ivan Fedorov said a separate attack set off a fire at a shopping mall and cut power to about 1,200 consumers. Odesa also reported infrastructure damage. The exchanges underscore how both sides continue to target economic and transport assets, even as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled.