Overview
- Ukrainian leaders publicly confirmed long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries deep inside Russia, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying operations targeted facilities that supply Russian military logistics.
- Russia said on Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack hit a student dormitory in Starobilsk, killing and wounding children, and released images and casualty figures that Kyiv and independent sources have not verified.
- Ukraine’s General Staff denied targeting civilians and said its forces struck a Russian military headquarters near Starobilsk, calling Moscow’s account misleading and saying strikes focus on military infrastructure.
- Both sides report very high UAV launch and interception numbers across multiple regions, and heavy frontline fighting continued in sectors such as Pokrovsk and Huliaipole, producing civilian casualties in cities including Dnipro.
- The episode has raised acute verification and escalation risks because access to occupied areas is limited, Russia has ordered retaliation options to be prepared, and international bodies have been asked to respond.