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Ukraine reports over 500 Russian combat drones in overnight attack

Russian forces launched another major overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday morning, as explosions were reported in several regions.

According to official reports, at least one person was killed and 22 others injured in strikes in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhya region. Three children were among the injured, the regional military administrator Ivan Fedorov, wrote on Telegram.

Fourteen apartment blocks and more than 40 private homes were damaged. The buildings were cut off from electricity and gas supplies, Federov said, citing at least 12 attacks with various weapons.

Russia annexed the Zaporizhzhya region in 2022 but does not fully control it. The eponymous regional capital remains under Ukrainian control.

Ukrainian air-defence forces reported that Russia attacked with a total of 537 drones, 37 cruise missiles and nine ballistic missiles in different parts of the country, with air defences engaging some targets.

Explosions were reported near the cities of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipro and the capital Kiev.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities reported extensive damage to infrastructure and several fires. No further information about casualties was initially available there or in other attacked locations.

Ukrainian media had warned citizens to expect possible airstrikes by Russian bombers.

Air-defence officials said six strategic bombers had taken off from Russian airfields, potentially carrying missiles to strike Ukrainian targets. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that the bombers had fired several cruise missiles.

The attacks follow a major overnight strike on Kiev earlier in the week, during which drones and missiles killed at least 25 people, marking one of the deadliest assaults in more than three and a half years of war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that Russia is preparing a major offensive in the eastern Donbass region, potentially targeting areas around Pokrovsk where up to 100,000 troops are reportedly massed, Interfax Ukraine reported.