Russia and Ukraine Exchange Deep-Strike Drone Attacks Amid Brief Ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine carried out coordinated deep-strike operations on Friday, targeting rear areas in both countries and resulting in fatalities and injuries on both sides. The attacks marked a resumption of long-range assaults after a brief lull in combat early this week.

Drone strikes hit Tula region

Dmitry Milyaev, governor of Russia’s Tula region in central Russia, reported that two people were killed and three others wounded in drone attacks on the area. In a Telegram post, Milyaev stated that Russian air defense units shot down 26 Ukrainian drones over the region during the night.

Damage in Saratov and Volgograd

In Saratov — a city on the Volga River in central Russia — Ukrainian drones damaged civilian infrastructure, according to regional governor Roman Busargin, who confirmed no casualties occurred. The Russian e-commerce company Ozon also announced via Telegram that a Ukrainian drone strike ignited a fire at its logistics center in Saratov. Kyiv has previously targeted more than 20 warehouses belonging to Ozon and its major partner Wildberries.

Further south along the Volga, in Volgograd, a rocket attack struck a residential building, wounding two people. Local authorities reported via Telegram that debris from the strike also damaged an industrial facility.

Russian airstrikes resume in Kyiv

Kyiv authorities reported via Telegram that Russian aerial bombardments injured eight people and triggered a fire in a nine-story residential building in the capital on Friday morning. Moscow resumed its near-continuous aerial campaign against Kyiv this week after a short pause that coincided with the visit of U.S. presidential envoy Donald Trump’s envoys to both Moscow and Kyiv, part of efforts to end the war.

Footage released by Ukrainian officials showed soldiers attempting to extinguish the blaze in the residential building, where several windows had been shattered.