Russian forces conducted a large-scale drone assault on Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine, on Tuesday night. The attack caused fires, injured 12 individuals, and inflicted significant damage on buildings and vehicles, according to the regional governor, Ivan Fedorov.
In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Fedorov mentioned that the onslaught resulted in the destruction of cars, shops, and seven apartment complexes. He also stated that 12 people were receiving medical treatment at the hospital. A rescue operation is currently ongoing at 12 different locations, with multiple units from the State Emergency Services, national police, and medical teams mobilized, as per Fedorov’s video posted online.
Images shared online depicted firefighters battling blazes at high-rise apartments and charred vehicles on the city’s streets. Emergency services reported on Telegram that they were successfully containing the fires and progressing with the rescue efforts.
While Russian forces control significant portions of the Zaporizhzhia region and have made recent territorial gains, the city itself remains under Ukrainian authority. Yevgeny Belitsky, the Russia-appointed leader of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region, accused Ukrainian forces of targeting power grid infrastructure in the Russian-held areas. According to Belitsky’s Telegram post, power supply to 40,000 customers in the Russian-controlled towns within the region was disrupted.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia, initiated by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has plunged the neighboring countries into an ongoing state of warfare. Both Ukraine and Russia have extensively utilized drones in the conflict, necessitating constant adaptation to the changing battlefield conditions and emerging threats posed by hostile drones.