A block of flats is on fire. Image: keystone
June 17, 2026, 03:58June 17, 2026, 03:58
According to authorities, at least one person was killed and seven injured in Russian air strikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine during the night. Because of Russian drones in the airspace, a warning about further strikes was issued to the population in the morning, according to the news site “The Kyiv Independent” reported. According to military governor Ivan Fedorov, primarily civilian infrastructure was damaged and a multi-story apartment block went up in flames.
Police said a man – the only fatality – was killed when one of dozens of Russian drones hit his car, the report said. The target of the air strikes was a residential area; the local university and a shopping center are also said to have been damaged. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Air raids are becoming more intense – the number of victims is rising
Zaporizhia is best known for its huge nuclear power plant, which Russian troops captured at the start of the war in spring 2022. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with six reactors and a nominal output of around 6,000 megawatts, was apparently not hit in the latest attack.
For more than four years, Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s war of aggression, which the neighboring country is now waging primarily with missiles and drones. Although the Ukrainian drone defense system works effectively, Russian missiles continue to cause extensive damage.
The intensity of the attacks and the destructive power of the types of weapons used by Russia have increased again in recent weeks and months: According to the United Nations, May was the most devastating month of war since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, with 274 deaths and almost 1,800 injuries. (sda/dpa)