Russia massively bombs Ukraine – dozens injured after hospital hit

In a major attack, Russia massively bombarded Ukraine with rockets, cruise missiles and combat drones. According to the regional prosecutor's office, at least 73 people were injured in one hit on a hospital in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv alone. 226 patients had to be transferred to other clinics.

The southern Ukrainian city of Dnipro was also badly hit, with one dead and 17 injured by mid-morning. A medical facility was also damaged there, where 100 people were currently being treated, as Governor Olexander Hanscha reported.

Zelenskyj sees a signal to the USA

"It says a lot that this is happening on the day of the congressional election in the USA," wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Platform X. "The Russians believe that the Americans will miss this signal. But such terror must be noticed and stopped." On Monday evening, Zelensky warned of an impending major attack.

According to consistent information from Kiev and Moscow, the main target of the attacks were Ukrainian energy facilities. The Russian Defense Ministry said thermal power plants in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions as well as several substations were targeted. The private Ukrainian utility DTEK announced that three of its power plants could no longer produce electricity.

29 dead and 48 missing near Zaporizhia

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russian army deployed several Iskander-M and Zirkon ballistic missiles, 59 cruise missiles of various types and 289 combat drones. Three rockets, 49 cruise missiles and 257 drones were intercepted. These military statements cannot be verified in detail, but they give an impression of the extent of the attacks.

After Monday's devastating Russian air strike on the town of Komyshuwacha near Zaporizhzhia, 48 people were still missing, Governor Mykhailo Semikin announced. The number of dead people found rose from 26 to 29. In the town near the front, people had gathered at a school to receive humanitarian aid when bombs fell.

Ukrainian drones hit refinery

For its part, Ukraine attacked the Russian hinterland with large swarms of drones during the night. The Russian military said 856 drones had been intercepted. This information cannot be verified either, but it is one of the highest numbers ever reported.

A focus of the attacks was the city of Yaroslavl, about 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. According to Governor Mikhail Yevrayev, there was damage to the local refinery, which is one of the largest in Russia. Ukraine has attacked them several times. Two refinery employees were injured. For the capital Moscow, the major Ukrainian attack meant that operations at all four airports had to be stopped or restricted.

There is no solution in sight to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has lasted more than four and a half years, even though both sides will continue to negotiate in Abu Dhabi next week under US mediation. According to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the talks will revolve around post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian aid measures and the next steps towards peace.