Russian drones attack Ukraine's Kharkiv and Dnipro, one dead, 46 injured

Russian drones attack Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro, killing one and injuring 46, escalating conflict.

Swarms of Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro late on Tuesday (April 29, 2025), killing at least one person and injuring at least 46, officials said.

Kharkiv, which lies in the northeast near the Russian border and is Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since Moscow began its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

The attack on the city late on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) injured at least 45 people, including two children and a pregnant woman, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

The attacks came as the United States, which had tried to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, said that it would step back as a mediator unless Moscow and Kyiv put forward concrete proposals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (April 28, 2025) declared a three-day ceasefire from May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an immediate ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said several areas of the city, which has been devastated by successive attacks, had been targeted on Tuesday (April 29, 2025). About 1.2 million people live in Kharkiv, compared to nearly 2 million before Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

“There have been 16 strikes on Kharkiv,” Mr. Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that high-rise apartment blocks, private homes, a medical facility and civilian infrastructure were hit.