Russia Hits Ukrainian Hospital and Homes in Drone Strikes

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said no one died and all patients, including the newborns, were transferred to another hospital unharmed. The strike sparked outrage and alarm as it occurred directly at a site providing life-saving assistance to mothers and newborns.

Drones started fires and destroyed homes in a residential area of the Saltivskyi district of the city. They struck a three-story building, and nearby courtyards were also hit. Firefighters said other fires erupted in a dental clinic, an unoccupied four-storey building, and the roof of another home, according to emergency services.

Civilians Injured, Damage Widespread
The Kharkiv strike injured at least nine civilians, including two men and seven women. At least most of them were lightly injured or suffered stress-related reactions from the broken glass and explosions.

In the greater Kharkiv area, aircraft and drones hit at least seven more locations, damaging houses, a medical center, and a nongovernmental enterprise.

Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said that six other drones struck an industrial site, starting another blaze. One of the injured, a 65-year-old woman, was taken to the hospital.

Explosions caused a major fire on the outskirts of the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv. The mayor, Oleksandr Senkevych, confirmed the explosions, and the region's governor, Vitalii Kim, said that emergency crews were at the scene gauging the damage. The damage in Mykolaiv was not immediately clear.

Moscow Escalates as Ukraine Responds
The attacks represent a significant escalation of Russia's use of drone warfare against Ukraine while discussions of a ceasefire have stalled. American President Donald Trump expressed irritation with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the lack of progress on the diplomatic front.

On Thursday, Trump announced that the U.S. was authorizing the sale of weapons to Ukraine through NATO and promised a big statement about Russia on Monday.

A week ago the U.S. temporarily suspended arms shipments to Kyiv — only to reverse that decision within hours after a few days, restoring the support.

Ukraine has also responded. On Friday, one civilian was killed and another was wounded after a strike by a Ukrainian drone in Russia's Tula region, about 200 kilometers south of Moscow, local officials said.

As the air battle rages, both sides are mired in perilous tit-for-tat, with civilians on the receiving end of mounting bloodshed.