Russia Strikes Ukraine, Killing Three Including Child; Kyiv Claims Largest Drone Attack on Moscow

Russia resumed its assault on Ukraine on Friday, with missile and drone strikes claiming the lives of three people, including an eight-year-old girl, in the city of Pavlohrad. The attacks followed a day after Ukraine executed its most significant drone operation against Moscow, targeting an oil refinery and igniting a large fire, according to Russian officials.

The Kremlin stated on Friday that it would continue striking Ukraine following the drone attack. Both countries have escalated their offensive actions against each other in recent weeks, while diplomatic efforts led by the United States to end the more than four-year-old conflict remain largely stalled. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposals for direct negotiations have been repeatedly rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has vowed to achieve Russia's war aims on the battlefield.

According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched 90 drones from Thursday evening into Friday morning. "An eight-year-old girl died. Another person was injured. These are the consequences of the enemy's morning attack on Pavlohrad," stated Oleksandr Hanzha, governor of Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region. Separate Russian attacks in Ukraine's southern Odesa region killed one person, and strikes in the eastern city of Kramatorsk claimed another life, authorities reported.

Ukraine reported that one person died and five were injured during Russian drone attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea on Thursday evening. These strikes occurred as Moscow dealt with the aftermath of the Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday, which marked the largest assault on the capital since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. The strikes ignited an oil refinery, an apartment building, and a shopping center. Moscow region Governor Andrey Vorobyov revealed on Friday that an eight-year-old girl died during the incident, noting she was home with her grandmother, who was unharmed.