Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine overnight from 17 to 18 May, resulting in casualties and widespread damage across multiple oblasts, according to Ukrainian emergency services and local authorities.
Ukrainian Air Force Command reported that Russia attacked with 273 strike drones overnight, with air defense forces successfully intercepting 88 of them.
In Kyiv oblast’s Obukhiv district, a residential building was destroyed, killing a 28-year-old woman. Three others were injured and hospitalized – a 61-year-old man, a 59-year-old woman, and a 4-year-old child.
Additional damage in Kyiv oblast includes a damaged apartment building and burning garages. In Fastiv district, a warehouse and farm building were destroyed, and a fire broke out at a local hospital.
Vasylkiv residents reported numerous explosions throughout the night. The city’s mayor said it had been “a difficult night in Vasylkiv.”
Drone debris fell in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, damaging the roof of a non-residential building, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Windows of a residential building in the Solomyanskyi district were also damaged. No casualties were reported in these incidents.
In Kharkiv oblast, Russian forces shelled seven settlements using guided bombs and drones. No casualties were reported in these attacks.
Kherson oblast faced more intense bombardment, with 29 settlements targeted. The attacks damaged an apartment building, private homes, a cellular tower, a gas pipeline, and several vehicles.
The attack injured eight people, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson Regional Military Administration.
In Donetsk oblast, Russian forces conducted 33 attacks on populated areas over the past day.
The attack injured one person, damaged two houses in Pokrovsk district.
In the Kramatorsk district, Russian strikes hit administrative buildings and private homes across multiple settlements. One person was killed in Yablunivka of the Illinivka community, where 18 facilities were damaged.
In Andriivka, five people were injured and two cars were damaged, according to regional authorities.
Dnipropetrovsk oblast also came under attack. Heavy artillery hit the Marhanets community in Nikopol district. Drone strikes damaged a farm building and private homes in the Mezhiv community. Later, an FPV drone targeted the Kryvyi Rih district, destroying solar panels in the Zelenodolsk community.
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