Russian Drone Attack Kills One in Eastern Ukraine

Kyiv (Eurotoday) – Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian shelling overnight killed one person and injured two others in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, while the Kremlin launched an attack using 79 drones.

City Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko stated,

Kramatorsk was subjected to hostile shelling – a residential district, a boy born in 2006 was killed.

Goncharenko also noted that a man and a woman sustained injuries.

Ukraine’s air force reported that its defense units intercepted and downed 63 of the 79 Russian drones targeting different regions overnight. The governor of the broader Zaporizhzhia region confirmed that a Russian drone attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southwestern Ukraine injured one civilian.

Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in their ongoing conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. However, thousands of civilians, primarily Ukrainians, have lost their lives in the war.

What military gains has Russia made in Eastern Ukraine?

Russian forces have intensified attacks in eastern Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s military. A NATO official suggested that Moscow would escalate the pace and intensity of its offensives as discussions about ending the war take place.

The main attacks have been concentrated near the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian officials said.

Moscow’s troops have made steady advances in the east since mid-2024, capturing village after village. However, the intensity of combat declined in January 2025, according to Ukrainian military assessments. Russian forces have secured a significant area to the south of Pokrovsk and are now moving toward its southwest, threatening a key supply route. Capturing Pokrovsk could open additional fronts for Russia.

Despite these setbacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described recent developments in the east as a “good result,” while a military spokesperson said Kyiv’s forces had reclaimed the village of Pishchane, located approximately 5 km south of Pokrovsk.

It isn’t so much the result of something collapsing for the Russians or some kind of magical weapon being delivered to Ukraine, no. Certain organizational actions were taken to help Ukrainians act more effectively,

said Viktor Trehubov, a military spokesperson.