A lethal Russian drone strike targeted a market in the southern Ukrainian town of Nikopol on Saturday morning, claiming five lives and wounding 21 others, including a 14-year-old girl.
The attack occurred around 09:50 local time (06:50 GMT) in a crowded area of the town, which sits across the Dnipro river from territories held by Russia since the February 2022 invasion, reports BBC.
Evidence from the scene, released by regional prosecutors, showed market stalls were destroyed, and the area littered with shards of metal and glass.
A subsequent strike at the same site resulted in injuries to two men. The prosecutor general’s office has confirmed that these actions are being investigated as potential war crimes.
While Nikopol is a frequent target, having seen nearly half of its 100,000 residents flee, officials have noted an increase in major daytime assaults.
The incident follows a violent Friday in which drone and missile strike across Ukraine killed at least 15 civilians. The Ukrainian air force stated that Russia deployed nearly 300 drones overnight, with further casualties reported in the northern Sumy region and the city of Kharkiv.
In a series of retaliatory measures, Ukrainian forces targeted Russian industrial sites. A defence ministry official reported a “massive attack” on a factory in Togliatti that manufactures petrochemicals and synthetic rubber.
Additionally, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed drone strikes had crippled the Alchevsk metallurgical plant in the occupied Luhansk region, causing significant damage to production shops and blast furnaces.
Meanwhile, authorities in Moscow claimed to have intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones. In the Russian city of Taganrog, officials reported that a drone and missile assault overnight killed one person and injured four others, sparking a fire at a logistics company’s premises. While Rostov regional governor Yuri Slyusar confirmed the damage, a Ukrainian official suggested the casualties resulted from Russian air defence operations.
On the diplomatic front, President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed an Easter truce, though Moscow has reportedly ignored the gesture. British intelligence has characterised the current frontline situation in the east as the “most favourable” for Ukraine in 10 months, noting a deceleration in the Russian advance.
However, international mediation efforts led by the United States have slowed as President Donald Trump and his administration shift their focus toward the Middle East conflict.
Faced with rising oil prices and continued Russian strikes on its energy network, Zelensky recently conducted a diplomatic tour of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan to secure fuel supplies and request assistance against aerial attacks.
