Russian missile and drone attacks injure at least 19, including children, in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine's capital and the surrounding region injured at least 19 people overnight and into Thursday morning, authorities said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces carried out overnight strikes against targets in Russia, including an oil refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in the Rostov region.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said the overnight attacks were recorded at more than 10 locations in the city, while 33 sites were damaged in the wider region. A 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were among the injured, the administration said in a statement on Telegram.

Peace efforts to end Russia’s 4 1/2-year full-scale invasion have stalled, with the issue of territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine among the central sticking points. Successive rounds of U.S.-brokered talks have failed to produce a breakthrough. Ukraine is also seeking security guarantees from partners for a deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed in a post on social media on Monday that Russia and Ukraine had mutually agreed to cease attacking each other's energy facilities, strikes that have led to significant supply issues in both countries.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Zelenskyy pushed back on Trump's claim, saying that while an energy truce was discussed during a recent meeting in Kyiv with Trump’s representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, he would only enter such an agreement if Russia ceases its attacks on Ukrainian energy sites.

A Russian drone struck a civilian vessel flying the flag of Tanzania in the Black Sea on Thursday, killing the ship’s captain and injuring three crew members, according to Oleh Kiper, the regional head in Odesa.

The vessel’s superstructure and deck were damaged in the morning attack, Kiper said in a statement on Telegram. He accused Russia of deliberately targeting Ukrainian ports and civilian merchant vessels.

Ukraine’s air force said it destroyed or suppressed 131 Russian aerial targets during the overnight attack in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa regions. The attack involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones and decoys.

In Odesa, seven people were injured, including two children, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Apartments on the 14th through 16th floors of a residential building were damaged. A private residential building in Odesa was also destroyed and others damaged.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine's operation against the Yaroslavl Oil Refinery was conducted jointly by the country's Security Service, special operations forces, military intelligence and the Foreign Intelligence Service.

He wrote on Telegram that the security service had also struck a military airfield in Rostov, damaging an An-12 aircraft, two An-26s and three helicopters.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the military hit metallurgical and electronics plants, factories of the military-industrial complex and energy and transport facilities. It said that three bulk carriers and a ferry carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military were hit in the port of Chornomorsk.

On Thursday, Ukraine received the bodies of 252 fallen soldiers as part of ongoing exchanges between Ukraine and Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a post on Telegram.

Russia said the remains belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel, the agency's statement said, adding that Ukrainian law enforcement and forensic experts will conduct examinations and work to identify the bodies.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine