Russian drones hit Zaporizhzhia after Ukraine's 1,000-drone barrage

Russian drones struck Zaporizhzhia after Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia. The exchange, unfolding as leaders gather at the UN, underscored the war's widening reach and lack of diplomatic progress.

In Short

• Residential blocks, a university and a mall were damaged in Zaporizhzhia
• Five people were wounded as strikes also hit nine other regions
• Russia said it targeted logistics hubs, warehouses and ports overnight

Russian drones struck Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said on Monday, a day after Kyiv's forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia. The latest exchanges came as there was no sign of any breakthrough in efforts to end the war, more than four years after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The fighting continued as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the annual event in New York, while Russian President Vladimir Putin was not due to attend. European leaders, who fear Moscow's intentions on the continent, remain keen to increase pressure on Putin to withdraw from Ukraine, but there has been no indication from the Kremlin that it is ready to step back from its goals.

The Russian bombardment of Zaporizhzhia late on Sunday hit apartment blocks, a university and a shopping mall, among other sites, and wounded five people, Zelenskyy said on social media on Monday. He said Russia also struck nine other regions of Ukraine. "Russia is not backing down from its escalation and is sending many signals that it is ready to expand the war," Zelenskyy said. "At the UN General Assembly, we will discuss how we can achieve peace through joint efforts."

Russia's Defence Ministry said its military had targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, warehouses and ports, among other military-related sites overnight. The attacks followed a large Ukrainian drone operation from Saturday to Sunday, including hundreds aimed at Moscow, as voters were casting ballots on the third and final day of a tightly managed parliamentary election in Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry said air defences had downed 244 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the waters of the Black Sea overnight. Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said it had shot down or suppressed 148 Russian drones in an overnight attack.

The aerial barrages also affected neighbouring countries. Moldova's Defence Ministry said part of the country's northern airspace was temporarily closed overnight after surveillance systems detected an "aerial object" entering its airspace shortly after midnight. In recent weeks, Moldova's airspace has been violated several times, and drone debris has been found on its territory. With electronic jamming capable of knocking drones off course, it was not clear whether the drones were Russian or Ukrainian, though Moldovan officials have often blamed Moscow. Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu has repeatedly criticised Russia over the war and said earlier this month that Moscow's "brutal war is reaching our border" after Russian strikes along Moldova's frontier with Ukraine. Drone incursions into Romania's airspace have also risen sharply.

The latest attacks on both sides, the continued pressure around the UN General Assembly, and the spread of drone-related incidents into neighbouring airspace underlined that the war remains active on multiple fronts, with no immediate sign of easing.

With PTI Inputs

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