Cross‑Border Strikes Kill Civilians; Ukraine Launches Drone Assault

Overnight exchanges saw Russia carry out mass missile and drone strikes across Ukraine that hit energy, transport and medical infrastructure and knocked out power in multiple regions, while Kyiv reported it had launched a large drone assault into Russia’s Belgorod region. In Sumy, officials said a Russian strike set fire to the roof of a perinatal medical center sheltering 166 people, including 11 children, but that staff and new mothers sheltered in basements and no one was killed; a separate strike on Shostka railway station wounded about 30 and killed at least one after two trains were hit in quick succession. Ukrainian and Russian sources each reported large drone volleys and numerous shootdowns, and Kyiv said cross‑border attacks and a rocket strike in Belgorod killed two people, including a power‑restoration worker. Ukraine’s forces said they damaged a Russian Buyan‑M corvette on Lake Onega and struck Russian military infrastructure as Kyiv expands domestic drone and rocket production. The exchanges left tens of thousands without electricity in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and other regions and prompted NATO neighbours to raise alerts, underscoring an intensifying cross‑border phase of the conflict ahead of winter.