KYIV — Two consecutive Russian attacks on a medical center in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least nine people on Saturday morning, Ukrainian officials reported.
The first strike claimed one life, and during the evacuation of patients and staff, Russia launched a second attack, according to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
Local authorities in Sumy confirmed the use of Shahed drones in the attack. Twelve others were injured, as stated by Sumy’s City Military administration.
Sumy, located roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Russia’s Kursk region, has seen Ukrainian troops deployed nearby since August, aiming to divert Russian forces from the front lines within Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air force claimed to have intercepted 69 of 73 Russian drones overnight, in addition to shooting down two of four missiles launched. In Kyiv, authorities reported the destruction of around 15 drones over the capital and surrounding areas.
In Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, officials said the body of a man was discovered under rubble following a missile strike on an administrative building on Friday, raising the death toll from that attack to four.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down four Ukrainian drones over Belgorod and one over Kursk, both bordering Ukraine.
Additionally, Ukrainian shelling of the Russian border city of Shebekino killed one person and injured two, according to Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. — Agencies