UPDATES WITH FURTHER REMARKS ON RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK & LEDE; EDITS THROUGH
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday traded accusations against each other regarding overnight airstrikes, which have killed at least nine people in both countries.
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram that the southern Russian region suffered "one of the most sustained and massive attacks of the Kyiv regime,” which injured six people in total.
“The situation is most serious in Novorossiysk and Gelendzhik,” Kondratyev said, citing preliminary reports that seven apartment buildings and at least seven private homes were damaged.
Separately, Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar announced that 10 people in the port city of Taganrog and the surrounding Neklinovsky district were injured in the overnight attack.
He said that three people died, adding that preliminary information showed a paint shop, a warehouse, several social facilities, four apartment buildings, 12 private homes, and four cars were damaged.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, air defenses intercepted 249 Ukrainian drones launched overnight toward Russia, with 116 downed over the Black Sea.
It further claimed that 76 of them were shot down over the Krasnodar region, while 16 others over the Rostov region.
Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram that at least six people were killed and 14 others injured in overnight Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said through the US social media company X that his country's Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy regions were affected by Russia's overnight strikes, saying the attacks targeted the energy sector and "everything that keeps normal life going."
He also noted that four Russian drones crossed into the airspace of neighboring Moldova and Romania.
"This is precisely why all partners must remember that lives need to be saved every single day. Weapons and air defense systems are important, as is the sanctions pressure on the aggressor.
"There can be no pauses in assistance. What matters most now is that all partners move toward diplomacy together, through joint efforts. Pressure on Russia must deliver results," he added.
Ukraine's Air Force claimed on Telegram that the country's air defenses shot down 438 out of 464 various types of drones, as well as 14 out of 22 different types of missiles, launched by Russia overnight.
Moscow and Kyiv have frequently traded accusations in recent weeks about targeting each other’s energy facilities as winter approaches, and amid the ongoing discussions on a proposed US-drafted plan aimed at advancing peace efforts in Ukraine.