Russia and Ukraine trade deadly overnight strikes despite renewed peace efforts

KYIV/MOSCOW — Russia and Ukraine exchanged another wave of deadly drone and missile attacks overnight into Friday, killing civilians on both sides and damaging residential, logistics and industrial sites even as US-backed diplomatic efforts attempt to build momentum toward negotiations.

Russian drone attacks on two petrol stations in Kyiv killed two people and injured eight, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. A rescue worker was among the injured after one site was hit again in what emergency services described as a double-tap strike. A separate attack on a residential block injured another eight people.

A woman was also killed in the wider Kyiv region, according to the regional governor. Russia has resumed near-continuous waves of attacks on the capital and surrounding areas after a brief reduction during a visit by US peace negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Ukraine simultaneously struck targets inside Russia. Authorities in the Tula region said two people were killed and three injured in Ukrainian drone attacks.

A drone also caused a fire at an Ozon logistics facility in Saratov, while regional officials reported damage to civilian infrastructure. More than two dozen warehouses belonging to major Russian retailers Ozon and Wildberries have been hit in recent attacks that Kyiv describes as attempts to disrupt economic infrastructure supporting Moscow's war effort.

Two people were injured in another strike on Volgograd that damaged residential buildings and an industrial facility. Authorities in Russia's Perm region separately reported attacks on two industrial locations. Reuters said it could not independently verify all regional accounts.

Both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny deliberately targeting civilians.

The escalation illustrates the central contradiction surrounding current diplomacy: US negotiators say renewed peace efforts have momentum, but both combatants are simultaneously increasing pressure on each other's economic and logistical infrastructure.

With another winter approaching, infrastructure warfare — fuel supplies, warehouses, refineries, electricity systems and transport networks — is likely to remain central unless diplomacy produces a tangible ceasefire.

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