Dozens of Ukrainian strike drones swarmed regions of Russia overnight, taking out at least three power substations and a fuel depot one day in a after shooting down a Russian strategic bomber — a wartime first for the besieged nation.
Reuters reported the Russian Tu-22M3 bomber was hit Friday with a modified S-200, a Soviet-era long-range surface-to-air missile system.
The strategic bomber was destroyed in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk after it completed a bombing mission that killed eight people in Ukraine — including a 14-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has focused its efforts on dismantling oil refineries and energy facilities within Russia.
On Saturday, more than 50 long-range drones flew into Russia, with most being shot down in the Belgorod region on Ukraine’s northwest border.
Two Russian civilians were killed after one of the strike drones ignited a fire at their home, according to reports.
In other developments:
- Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office claimed Russia’s invasion has killed or injured at least 1,843 children since February 2022. The Kyiv Independent said at least 545 children have died since the start of the war, with the most killed in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, citing the report released Saturday. The report follows on the heels of the release of U.N. data indicating 11,000 civilians have been killed during the ongoing conflict, with over 20,500 injured. Those figures are likely underreported, given Russia doesn’t permit international monitoring in the occupied areas that’ve been hit the hardest, like Mariupol.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missiles bombarded the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, destroying some grain storage facilities as well as the food inside.
With Post wires
