Russia renews strikes on Ukraine, killing three after drone attack on Moscow

The Escalating Conflict

Russia has renewed its strikes on Ukraine, killing three people including an eight-year-old girl, Ukrainian officials said.

The Russian strikes on Friday come a day after Ukraine launched its biggest-ever drone attack on Moscow, killing a different eight-year-old girl and sparking an inferno at a major oil refinery, according to Russian officials.

The Drone Attacks

Between late Thursday and early Friday, Russia launched 90 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.

“An eight-year-old girl was killed. Another person was wounded. These are the consequences of this morning’s enemy attack on Pavlohrad,” Oleksandr Ganzha, the governor of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, said.

The Impact on Civilians

Separate Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region killed one person, while strikes on the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed one other, according to authorities.

Russian drone attacks late on Thursday killed one person and wounded five others on civilian ships in the Black Sea, Ukraine said.

The Kremlin's Response

The Kremlin said on Friday it would “continue” striking Ukraine following that attack.

“These strikes [on Ukraine] will continue,” spokesman Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

The Retaliation

Ukraine insists its strikes targeting Russia are fair retaliation for attacks on its own civilians.

Ukraine’s ⁠military also⁠ struck railway bridges in Russian-held ⁠Crimea, Ukraine’s general ⁠staff said on Friday.