Death toll from Russia's overnight Ukraine strikes rises to 6; both sides target energy infrastructure

The death toll from Russias overnight missile and drone barrage on Ukraine rose to at least six on Sunday as fresh strikes hit multiple cities while both Moscow and Kyiv intensified attacks on each others energy infrastructure news agency AP reportedThree people were killed in a Russian strike on a postal facility near Ukraines secondlargest city of Kharkiv while separate guided bomb attacks on Kherson and Sumy left at least one person dead in each city according to Ukrainian authorities One person was also killed in Kyiv where Russia had launched a largescale overnight assault using ballistic missiles drones and guided bombsRussia fired 41 missiles and 125 drones across Ukraine overnight with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying most of the missiles targeted the capital The latest attacks again highlighted Ukraines shortage of USmade Patriot air defence systems regarded as the most effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missilesUS President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriot air defence systems although the details and timeline remain unclear and largescale production could take yearsThe overnight strikes sparked fires in five districts of Kyiv damaging residential buildings office and industrial facilities a dormitory and vehicles according to Ukraines State Emergency ServiceViktoria Shejko 32 was sheltering in the corridor of her apartment building with her husband and seven children when the explosions beganRussia says militarylinked facilities were targeted in KyivWhen the alarm started we checked that there were ballistics then went into the corridor Then it started exploding one missile after another she saidDescribing the psychological toll of the repeated attacks she added It used to be once a week or even more rarely but now if not every day then every other dayEmergency responders rescued four people from a burning house in Kyivs Sviatoshynskyi district while another blaze engulfed a threestorey residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district where one person was found dead Firefighters also tackled fires in the Solomyanskyi Desnianskyi and Dnipro districtsRussias Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted facilities linked to Ukraines military including plants manufacturing Flamingo drones and components for Neptune guided missiles as well as a postal terminal allegedly used to store dualuse goods and assemble drones robotic systems and electronic warfare equipmentSeparately two oil tankers were struck at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium CPC terminal off Russias Black Sea coast forcing the suspension of oil loadings the consortium saidThe strike on the ASIA and NISSOS tankers at the port of Novorossiysk caused a fire aboard the ASIA which was later extinguished The CPC did not identify who carried out the attackBoth sides intensify attacks on energy infrastructureThe company said there were no casualties or oil spills and both tankers sailing under the flags of Liberia and the Marshall Islands respectively remained afloatRussia and Ukraine have sharply increased attacks on vessels in the Black and Azov seas over the past week Kyiv says it is targeting Russias socalled shadow fleet which transports oil in violation of international sanctions imposed over Moscows invasionUkraine has repeatedly targeted Russias oil infrastructure arguing that it directly supports Moscows war effort and generates export revenues that finance the conflictThe 1510km CPC pipeline links Kazakhstans Caspian Sea oil fields to Novorossiysk where crude oil is loaded onto tankers for export to global markets The pipeline carries about 80 per cent of Kazakhstans crude exports while the Russian government and stateowned oil companies together hold a 31 per cent stake in the consortiumMeanwhile President Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck additional energy infrastructure inside Russian territoryAccording to Zelenskyy Ukraines Security Service hit three oil depots in Russias Stavropol region while another military unit targeted a separate fuelrelated facility Zelenskyy also claimed that three Russian tankers in the Black Sea had been struckUkraine expands drone campaign inside Russian territoryEarlier Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said Ukrainian drone attacks had sparked fires at two industrial facilities in the region but reported no casualtiesRussian news outlet Astra reported that three oil depots may be on fire in Stavropol based on photographs and videos shared by local residentsRussias Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted 140 Ukrainian drones overnight across eight Russian regions annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas It did not specify how many drones had been launched or how many reached their intended targetsIn Russias Kursk region bordering Ukraine Ukrainian drones struck four apartment buildings causing a fire and injuring one person according to regional Governor Alexander KhinshteinWith AP inputs