Civilian casualties mount as Russian drones and missiles target Ukrainian power grid and residential blocks
A Russian ballistic missile tore through a five-story apartment building in Kharkiv’s Kyivskyi district early Saturday, March 7, killing at least seven civilians. Among the victims recovered from the rubble were two 13-year-old children, a boy and a girl.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov and President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that search and rescue operations are ongoing across 300 square meters. K9 units and deminers are currently scouring the debris, as emergency services warn that more residents remain trapped beneath the ruins. At least ten others, including two children, sustained injuries in the blast.
Widespread strikes across Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia
The Dnipropetrovsk region endured approximately twenty separate attacks involving kamikaze drones and heavy artillery. In Nikopol, a 48-year-old man was killed and a 69-year-old woman injured after shelling damaged 20 buildings and a local enterprise.
In the city of Zaporizhzhya, an infant was among those wounded during a night of intense bombardment. Regional head Ivan Fedorov reported a total of 760 strikes across 41 settlements within a 24-hour window, emphasizing the unprecedented scale of drone deployment in the sector.
Infrastructure targeted from Odessa to Chernivtsi
The air assault extended to western Ukraine, where cruise missiles targeted Novodnistrovsk in the Chernivtsi region. The strike triggered an immediate blackout, severing power to the entire city.
In Odessa, over 80 firefighters battle blazes at several critical infrastructure facilities following drone hits. While Sumy reported no casualties after drones struck an office complex and a nearby residential block, the coordinated nature of the strikes suggests a renewed Russian effort to cripple Ukraine’s remaining energy and administrative hubs.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
