Kharkhiv, March 8 — At least 14 people were killed and 37 wounded, including five children, in Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s eastern city of Dobropillia and a settlement in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry reported Saturday.
Dobropillia, located in the Donetsk region about 22 kilometers from the front line, was hit by ballistic missiles, multiple rockets, and drones. The strikes damaged eight multi-story buildings and 30 vehicles. Eleven people, including five children, were killed, and 30 others wounded, according to the ministry.
In a separate attack on the Kharkiv region, three civilians were killed, and seven others wounded in a drone strike.
“Such strikes show that Russia’s objectives have not changed. Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defenses, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Facebook post.
On Friday, Russian forces launched their first major missile attack on Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure since the U.S. paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. Military analysts say the halt in American military aid and intelligence could weaken Ukraine’s air defenses as it struggles to track and intercept incoming attacks.
While diplomatic efforts continue to push Kyiv and Moscow toward negotiations, both sides remain engaged in heavy combat. Russian troops have intensified attacks on Pokrovsk, a key hub near Dobropillia, for weeks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces carried out a large-scale drone strike overnight on Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery, one of the country’s largest. A fuel tank was damaged, a local official reported.
In Kursk, Russian forces have been working to push out Ukrainian troops after Kyiv briefly seized territory in the region last August. Moscow’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that Russian troops had retaken three villages from Ukrainian forces.
