Recent Drone Strikes in Ukraine
February 13 — In a tragic incident near the eastern front close to one of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports near Odessa, three brothers, including an 8-year-old boy, lost their lives due to a Russian drone strike. Ukrainian officials reported one additional fatality and six injuries from the strike that occurred late Thursday night.
According to the district prosecutor’s office in Donetsk Oblast, the boys’ mother and grandmother, both aged 19, sustained injuries in the attack.
These ports are vital for Ukraine’s maritime exports, playing a crucial role in the country’s economy, especially during wartime.
As diplomatic efforts led by the U.S. to negotiate peace seem to stall, Russia has intensified its assault on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, while Kiev reciprocates by targeting Russian oil facilities.
“Russia has initiated significant strikes against our port and rail infrastructure,” noted Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba on Telegram.
Kuleba pointed out that the assaults affected various infrastructures, including fertilizer warehouses and freight vehicles, leading to a fire as a result of the strike.
The Ukrainian Seaport Authority refrained from identifying the specific port involved but confirmed it was one of three around Odessa that were still operational, despite sustaining damage.
Overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 154 drones and a ballistic missile targeting the country.
Of those aerial threats, 111 unmanned aircraft were intercepted or disabled by air defense systems.
Odesa Governor Ole Kiper indicated that energy, industrial, and residential infrastructures in the region had also come under attack, noting earlier that the strike caused substantial disruptions to power, heating, and water supply.
DTEK, Ukraine’s prominent private energy company, characterized the damage to the city’s energy infrastructure as “extremely serious,” implying a lengthy repair period ahead.
Details concerning the specific facilities damaged remain undisclosed, and Kuleba mentioned further strikes on railway infrastructure in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region within the past day.
