Russia launches huge drone attack on Ukraine infrastructure; Moscow dismisses U.S. sanctions

Russia launched a huge drone attack in the early hours of Friday morning, striking critical infrastructure in parts of southern and western Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The air force said on Telegram that it had shot down 24 “Shahed” drones out of “four dozen” launched from Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, while a Kh-59 guided air missile had also been launched from occupied Kherson.

Drone strikes hit civilian targets in and around Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the early hours of Friday morning, according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleh Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, wrote on Telegram that attacks damaged civilian infrastructure shortly after midnight in the northeastern city along with a nearby village, according to a Google translation. He also shared video and images of a fire blazing in Kharkiv city and said eight residents received medical attention on the spot, but nobody was injured.

The U.S. government on Thursday imposed sweeping new sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, with almost 100 new measures targeting energy production, mining and defense. It also included new measures to clamp down on sanctions evasion in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and China.

“Russia is dependent on willing third-country individuals and entities to resupply its military and perpetuate its heinous war against Ukraine and we will not hesitate in holding them accountable,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.

In a Twitter post and accompanying video late Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that he has “no doubt that Ukraine will win.”