The key facts

  • The overnight strikes killed at least six people: four died in Volgograd region, one in Odesa region, and the death of a 17-year-old teenager in Zaporizhzhia region was also reported
  • Ukraine said it intercepted 80 of 117 Russian drones; Russia's Defense Ministry reported 1,198 Ukrainian drones downed across 17 regions
  • The strikes came two days after talks in Abu Dhabi, where the sides agreed on plans for a major prisoner exchange

A Night of Strikes After the Talks

Overnight into Friday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged large-scale strikes that, according to authorities in both countries, killed at least six people. This came two days after the end of two-day talks mediated by the United States in Abu Dhabi — the first trilateral meetings of this format since February, when representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the US gathered in Geneva.

Consequences on the Russian Side

Governor of Volgograd region Andrei Bocharov said on Telegram that debris of downed Ukrainian drones fell on an enterprise in the southern industrial zone of the regional center and on adjacent territory, causing localized fires. He initially reported no casualties, but later said four people had been killed and two wounded. According to him, in the settlement of Svetly Yar the glazing of three five-story residential buildings and a youth center were damaged; there were no casualties there, and municipal authorities have been tasked with assessing the damage and carrying out restoration work. Governor of Rostov region Yuri Slyusar reported one person injured: drone debris damaged residential buildings, a manufacturing plant and a warehouse in Rostov-on-Don and several districts of the region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that between 15:00 GMT on Thursday and 05:00 GMT on Friday, 467 drones were intercepted approaching the capital region, 144 of them on approach to Moscow. Russia's Defense Ministry said 1,198 Ukrainian drones were downed across 17 regions, as well as over the Black Sea and Crimea.

Strikes on Ukraine

Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 80 of 117 Russian attack drones overnight. In Kyiv, according to the local department of the State Emergency Service, a Russian strike hit a hospital in the Shevchenkivskyi district: one person was wounded, the resulting fire was extinguished, 30 people were evacuated by the medical facility's staff, and seven more were rescued by emergency workers. Governor of Rivne region Oleksandr Koval reported six people wounded after a drone hit a apartment building in the regional center. In Odesa region, according to governor Oleh Kiper, one person was killed and five wounded, with residential buildings and cars damaged. Damage was also reported by authorities in Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions; in the latter, according to local reports, a 17-year-old teenager was killed.

Context of the Talks

The exchange of strikes came against the backdrop of an ongoing diplomatic track. American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who represented the US at the talks in Abu Dhabi, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, and later that day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin. Following the talks, which began on Tuesday, the sides agreed on plans for a large-scale prisoner exchange, the details of which are still being discussed. Kushner said the talks brought 'meaningful progress in understanding the concerns of both sides, identifying possible solutions and building a path forward,' and that the next round of talks would be expanded to include European partners to discuss postwar security mechanisms in Europe alongside territorial issues. Independent verification of either side's claims about casualties and damage is difficult due to the ongoing war.