KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A drone assault by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia resulted in three fatalities and left 14 others injured, as reported by Ukrainian officials on Saturday, despite an agreement on a limited ceasefire.
According to police, Zaporizhzhia was attacked by 12 drones. Regional leader Ivan Fedorov stated that the assault on Friday night set fire to residential buildings, vehicles, and communal structures. Images revealed emergency services searching through the debris for survivors.
On Wednesday, Ukraine and Russia tentatively agreed to a limited ceasefire following a conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of both nations, though the specifics regarding which targets would be exempt from attacks remain unclear.
The three parties displayed distinct perspectives on the deal’s scope. While the White House indicated that “energy and infrastructure” were included in the agreement, the Kremlin maintained that it pertained narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his desire for the protection of railways and ports as well.
The deceased in Zaporizhzhia were members of the same family. Fedorov shared on Telegram that the bodies of the father and daughter were recovered from the rubble, while medical teams battled for over 10 hours to save the mother, albeit unsuccessfully.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed a total of 179 drones and decoys in the latest wave of assaults overnight into Saturday. They claimed to have intercepted 100 drones, with an additional 63 likely lost due to electronic jamming.
In the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, officials reported fires ignited by debris from intercepted drones.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense stated that their air defense systems shot down 47 Ukrainian drones.
Local authorities reported that two individuals sustained injuries and six apartments were damaged when a Ukrainian drone struck a high-rise building in Rostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia, on Friday night.
Following Wednesday’s call with Trump, Zelenskyy informed reporters that Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators would address technical aspects related to the partial ceasefire during a meeting scheduled in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Russian negotiators are also expected to engage in separate discussions with U.S. officials there.
Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s willingness to accept a full, 30-day ceasefire proposed by Trump, stating: “We will not oppose any format or any steps toward an unconditional ceasefire.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that a complete ceasefire is contingent on halting arms supplies to Kyiv and suspending Ukraine’s military mobilization — demands that Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected.
Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine on Saturday of continuing “treacherous attacks” on energy infrastructure, asserting that Russia reserves the right for a “symmetrical” response.
Her remarks followed Russia’s allegations that Ukrainian forces detonated a gas metering station near Sudzha in the Kursk region of Russia on Friday. Ukraine’s military General Staff disputed these claims, attributing the attack to Russian military shelling as part of a “discrediting campaign.”
