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KYIV: A ‘massive’ overnight Russian attack on central and southeastern Ukraine killed at least one person, authorities said Saturday, with homes and businesses damaged in multiple cities.
“At night, the enemy carried out massive strikes” on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s state emergency service said on Telegram.
At least one person was killed and sixteen others wounded, including two children, according to regional military administration chief Ivan Fedorov.
“Russian strikes destroyed private houses, damaged many facilities, including cafes, service stations, and industrial enterprises,” Fedorov said.
Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region also came under attack early Saturday, the governor said, reporting strikes in Dnipro and Pavlograd.
“The region is under a massive attack. Explosions are being heard,” Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram, warning residents to take cover.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dnipropetrovsk had been largely spared from intense fighting.
But Kyiv acknowledged on Tuesday that Russian troops had entered the region, after Moscow claimed its troops had gained a foothold there.
Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea – that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

SYDNEY: Australian police battled severe alpine weather on Saturday on the fifth day of a search for a gunman who escaped into dense bush after allegedly shooting dead two officers and injuring another at a rural property in Victoria state.
Hundreds of officers were in the field searching for 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, previously known as Desmond Filby, who is believed to have expert bushcraft skills and multiple powerful firearms, a police spokesperson said.
The search area includes the town of Porepunkah, about 300 kilometers northeast of Melbourne, where Freeman is alleged to have fired on police on Tuesday, before fleeing on foot into the bush.
Bureau of Meteorologist senior forecaster Jonathan How said a severe weather warning was current for the region, which was experiencing challenging conditions of cold, wind and snow.
A very cold night was on the way for the area, including possible black ice on roads, How said. A minimum temperature of 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) was forecast on Sunday for Porepunkah, according to the weather bureau.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan visited nearby Wangaratta police station on Friday to pay tribute to the two slain officers, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, amid what she said was the “huge operation” by authorities to catch Freeman.
“Their loss won’t be forgotten. With honor they served,” Allan said of the officers on social media platform X.
Freeman is alleged to have fired on a team of 10 police officers, including members of the sexual offenses and child investigation team, when they arrived at his Porepunkah property to execute a search warrant.
Australian media have reported that police believe Freeman is a “sovereign citizen” who regards the government is illegitimate.