Russia and Ukraine launch drone strikes overnight

Ukraine has launched a wave of overnight aerial attacks on Russian energy facilities in the Kursk region, Zheleznogorsk, and other areas, aiming to target the country's vital energy and gas sector. Kyiv has intercepted dozens of Russian drones, while Russia fired 42 Iran-designed attack drones and five missiles at its territory overnight, injuring at least seven people. The drones were launched from Russian border regions and the annexed Crimean peninsula. Kyiv has appealed to its Western allies to help bolster its air defenses to fend off systematic Russian aerial attacks on key infrastructure throughout the two-year invasion.

Ukraine's prosecutor general reported that seven people, including a 10-year-old boy, were injured during the overnight attacks in the eastern Sumy region. One of the drones targeted a hospital where 400 patients were housed. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a school and kindergarten building were damaged, though there were no casualties. Officials in the southern Odesa region said a recreational facility, a gas pipeline, and residential buildings were damaged by debris from the downed drones.

Russia's defence ministry said it had downed Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod and Voronezh regions. Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Sochi later Wednesday to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The Kremlin also denied International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for two top Russian officers over alleged war crimes conducted in the invasion of Ukraine. Russia is not a member of The Hague-based court.