Since Friday evening and at night, Russia launched several waves of attack drones over Ukraine. After the drone was hit, a large-scale fire started in Kharkiv, private houses burned, at least seven people died, including three children.
The head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration Oleg Sinegubov said that the drone attack began around eleven in the evening. Hits were recorded in the Nemyshlyan district of the city.
Civilian infrastructure was damaged. As Synegubov clarified later, the drones hit the oil depot, where the fuel leak occurred. One tank is still full, so the danger remains.
The evacuation zone can, if necessary, be expanded, added the head of the Regional State Administration.
Several large fires broke out on the streets of the residential sector due to fuel spillage.
"The whole street turned into a hellish molten mass. People in the houses ended up as hostages," said Serhiy Bolvinov, Deputy Chief of Police of the Kharkiv Region.
An entire family of five people burned alive in one of the private residential buildings. Young parents and their three small children - seven-year-old, four-year-old and seven-month-old boy.
The man's body was found in the corridor of the house, and the mother and children tried to escape in the bathroom. The body of the youngest boy could not be found.
A 66-year-old man and his 65-year-old wife died in another house. The man was paralyzed, his wife took care of him.
Two women aged 61 and 39, as well as a 45-year-old man, were injured.
15 residential private buildings on the street burned to the ground. Fighting the fire and searching for victims continued on Saturday morning.
According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, the area of the fire is 3,700 square meters.
According to the authorities, 50 residents, including two children, were evacuated from the scene of the fire. The State Emergency Service managed to contain the fire in the residential quarter, saving 25 houses from the fire.
Around midnight, explosions also rang out in the village of Velikiy Burluk, Kupyan district, Kharkiv region. The strike of the drones destroyed the cafe, the premises were on fire on the first and second floors. The authorities reported that there were no casualties.
The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russia attacked Ukraine on the night of Saturday with 31 Shahed-136/131 attack drones, 23 of which were shot down.
Drones flew in waves during the night, the main impact fell on Odesa and Kharkiv regions.
In Odesa region, according to the spokeswoman of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalia Humenyuk, there were three waves of attacks, as a result of which four people were injured.
Drones launched by the Russian army also flew to the Danube ports. Telegram channels reported at night about explosions and air defense operations in the districts of Izmail and Reni.
Reni is the furthest Ukrainian port on the Danube from the Black Sea, located near the junction of the borders of Ukraine, Romania and Moldova.
Through Reni and Izmail, Ukraine exports agricultural products by sea. The Danube and Black Sea ports of Odesa have been subject to constant Russian drone and missile strikes in the second half of last year, following Russia's withdrawal from the agreement on a safe sea corridor for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products.
On the night before Saturday, Russia also announced a drone attack. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that three Ukrainian drones were intercepted in the Bryansk region. There is no information about the victims.