Nighttime strikes kill at least 5 in Ukraine, as Zelenskyy discusses drone defense on UAE visit

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched over 270 drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least five people, Ukrainian authorities reported on Saturday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, made an unannounced visit to the United Arab Emirates, as Kyiv seeks to use its drone expertise to help Arab states blunt Iran’s attacks.

Two people were killed and at least 11 more were injured in a nighttime Russian drone strike on Odesa, according to the head of the region, Serhii Lysak. According to Lysak’s Telegram posts, the attack damaged a maternity hospital and private houses in the major Black Sea port city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the “massive” strike involved more than 60 drones.

“Last night, the Russians launched a massive strike on Odesa. There was no military purpose whatsoever — this was pure terror against ordinary civilian life,” he said Saturday on X. He added that port and “critical” infrastructure was also damaged, as well as business premises.

Two men died and two more were injured early on Saturday in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine, after a Russian drone hit an industrial facility, regional head Oleksandr Gandzha said in a Telegram update. He did not specify what the industrial building was.

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One person was killed overnight in the Poltava region, also in central Ukraine, as Russia struck unspecified industrial sites there, regional authorities reported on Saturday.

According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 273 drones at Ukraine during the night, 252 of which were downed or electronically jammed.

Also on Saturday, Zelenskyy and Emirati state media reported on a meeting between the Ukrainian President and his Emirati counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss regional security amid the Iran war.

Last week, Zelenskyy revealed that Kyiv is helping five countries in the Middle East and Gulf region — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan — counter Teheran’s drone strikes on their territory.

“For Ukraine, this is also a matter of principle: terror must not prevail anywhere in the world. Protection must be sufficient everywhere,” Zelenskyy commented on X following his meeting with the Emirati leader.

He added they had discussed “the security situation in the Emirates, Iranian strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affects the global oil market”.

Ukraine has quickly grown into one of the world’s leading producers of cutting-edge, battle-tested drone interceptors that are cheap and effective. They are playing a key part in its defense against Russia’s more than 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

In return for its aid to Gulf countries, Ukraine is seeking more high-end air-defense missiles that they possess, and that Kyiv needs to blunt Russia’s attacks.