At least 29 people were injured in a large-scale Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, overnight, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported Friday. Among the wounded was a 13-year-old boy.
Fedorov said Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure, striking residential buildings, a university, and key infrastructure facilities. “The Russians have hit the city’s civilian infrastructure,” he wrote on Telegram, noting that at least 10 strikes were recorded. Several private homes and high-rise buildings were also damaged.
Three individuals were rescued from under the rubble, and 12 people are currently hospitalized, he added.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting 64 out of 150 drones launched by Russia. Another 62 were likely neutralized by electronic warfare measures. The fate of the remaining 24 drones was not specified.
Images from the aftermath showed fires, destroyed buildings, and rescue operations. One photo showed teams evacuating an injured man from the debris.
Ukraine’s state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, confirmed that a drone strike severely damaged its locomotive repair plant in Zaporizhzhia, which specialized in maintaining passenger electric locomotives. Fedorov said the facility is now inoperable.
Elsewhere, two men were wounded and fires broke out at two sites in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region following another Russian drone strike, according to Governor Sergiy Lysak.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its air defenses shot down 121 Ukrainian drones, mostly over occupied Crimea.
The escalation came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a new critical minerals agreement with the United States as a “truly equal” partnership, despite lacking firm security commitments.
