The key facts

  • At least three killed and more than 20 wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine on 13 November
  • Strikes hit Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv region; children among the wounded
  • In retaliatory attacks on the Samara and Volgograd regions, eight people were killed, according to Russian authorities

Casualties in three regions of Ukraine

At least three people were killed and more than 20 injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine on Friday, 13 November, authorities said. In Odesa, according to the head of the city military administration Serhiy Lysak, two people were killed and five wounded; a residential building and several cars were damaged.

Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv region

In the Zaporizhzhia region, according to local authorities, one person was killed in a strike on an industrial facility in the Kosmichesky district. Another strike hit a residential neighborhood: nine people were wounded. Acting head of the regional military administration Mykhailo Semikin wrote on Telegram that apartments on three floors were damaged, fires broke out on the second and third floors, and cars caught fire in the courtyard. In the Kharkiv region, according to the regional prosecutor's office, at around four in the morning on 13 November a Russian drone attacked the village of Mala Danylivka (Malinovka) in the Chuhuiv district; houses were destroyed and damaged, and seven people were wounded — three women, two men and two boys aged 16 and 11.

Retaliatory strikes on Russia

Ukrainian forces, for their part, carried out strikes overnight into Friday on the Samara and Volgograd regions. According to local Russian authorities, four people were killed in a drone attack on an industrial facility in the Samara region and four more in a strike on Volgograd. Unverified video of a large fire at an oil refinery in Volgograd is circulating on social media.

Diplomatic backdrop

The strikes came against the backdrop of resumed diplomatic contacts. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky concluded a meeting with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Ireland; the American representatives arrived after a meeting with Vladimir Putin. This week, Kyiv and Moscow agreed on the 'largest prisoner exchange' since the start of the war, which, as noted, may open up the possibility for Europe to participate in future peace talks on Ukraine.