At least 11 people have been killed in recent drone strikes by Russian and Ukrainian forces, including children at a holiday camp in a Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine.
The attacks occurred amid rising tensions, with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warning of a possible large-scale Russian offensive, while drone incursions have also affected neighboring NATO countries.
At least 11 people have been killed in Russian and Ukrainian drone strikes on Ukraine, including children at a holiday camp in a Russian-held area in the east.
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Overnight on Friday, at least eight people, including two children, were killed in a suspected Ukrainian attack on holiday camps in a Russian-held part of Zaporizhia, according to regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky.
Occupying authorities said the strike hit the seaside village of Kyrylivka on the Azov Sea, which fell to Russian forces shortly after the war began. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack.
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Balitsky accused Ukraine of “deliberately” targeting civilians and said that 14 other people, including three children, were wounded in the strike.
In Ukraine’s Sumy region, bordering Russia, a large fire broke out after a Russian drone struck a civilian facility, Oleh Hryhorov, head of the regional military administration, said on Saturday.
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Three drivers for the private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta were killed in that attack, he added.
The strikes come hours after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in his evening address late on Friday that intelligence believed a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine was imminent.
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Meanwhile, Romania’s defence ministry on Saturday said its forces “safely shot down” a drone breaching its airspace in an “unpopulated area” near the Ukrainian border.
In a post on social media, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the drone was “shot down by a Romanian pilot from an F-16 aircraft”.
The interception came a day after a suspected Russian drone was shot down around Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
A series of drone incursions from both Russia and Ukraine have affected Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port. No injuries were reported.
A month earlier, a Russian drone destined for Ukraine went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.
There has been an uptick in civilian deaths in the Russia-Ukraine war this summer, although both sides deny targeting civilians.
On Friday, a drone strike hit a shopping centre in southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, causing a fire and several injuries, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.
A separate attack on a site hosting a defence industry event near Kyiv killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 100 others.
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