War in Ukraine: a school hit, at least 12 dead in a Russian attack, more than 120 drones sent… the latest on the situation

Un immeuble touché à Poltava en Ukraine ce 1er février 2025. MAXPPP – STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE HANDOUT

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce samedi 1er février 2025, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit

Russian strikes kill at least 12 in Ukraine

Russia fired a new round of missiles and drones into Ukraine overnight Friday into Saturday, killing at least 12 people and damaging residential buildings and energy infrastructure across the country, authorities said.

The Interior Ministry said a Russian missile struck a residential building in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, killing eight people and injuring 17 others, including four children. Photos released by the ministry on the Telegram messaging app showed the upper floors of the building destroyed and dozens of rescuers and firefighters sifting through the rubble.

One person was also killed and four injured in a drone strike in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the city's mayor said. The regional governor said six missiles and 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones attacked infrastructure, including gas. Three police officers died while patrolling a village in the neighboring Sumy region, local officials said.

Russian strikes also damaged buildings in Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine. The attack also targeted kyiv, but no damage was reported. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported damage in six regions and called once again for strengthening Ukraine's air defenses.

“Every air defense system, every anti-missile weapon saves lives,”, he wrote on Telegram. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 123 drones and more than 40 missiles were used by Russia on Saturday. She claimed to have shot down 56 drones and neutralized 61 others by electronic means.

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She did not specify the number of missiles intercepted, speaking only of a “significant number”. “Russia's daily attacks on Ukraine prove that the aggressor will not stop committing its crimes”, Dmytro Loubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, commented on Telegram.

As the third anniversary of the war approaches and Donald Trump has taken office, raising doubts about continued U.S. support for Ukraine, Moscow is stepping up its airstrikes in an effort to force kyiv to capitulate.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday it had targeted gas and other energy infrastructure on Saturday, according to the Interfax news agency. It also said it had shot down 108 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours.

Russia launched 42 missiles and 123 drones at Ukraine overnight, kyiv says

The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow launched 42 missiles and 123 drones on the country overnight Friday into Saturday, a massive new attack that killed at least 11 people.

Several missiles were shot down by air defenses, the air force added, without specifying their number. In addition, 56 enemy drones were destroyed and 61 others failed to reach their target, the source said.

One person killed in explosion at military recruitment center

An explosion at a military recruitment office in the northwestern Ukrainian city of Rivne killed one person and injured six on Saturday, Ukrainian police said, without explaining the cause of the blast.

In a statement, police said the explosion occurred at around 4:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. GMT). “A team of investigators, security service officers (SBU) and rescuers are working on the scene,” the source added.

Russian army claims capture of village near Toretsk in eastern Ukraine

The Russian army said on Saturday it had captured a village near the city of Toretsk, which has been at the heart of fighting for months in the eastern Donetsk region, where Kremlin troops are continuing their advance.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that units of the “Center group” had captured the town of Krymské (Krymskoye in Russian) located in the northeastern suburbs of Toretsk.

kyiv accuses Moscow of striking school, used as shelter, in Russia's Kursk region

The Ukrainian military on Saturday accused Russia of striking a school building used as a shelter for elderly people in the town of Sudja, located in the Ukrainian-occupied part of Russia's Kursk region, saying dozens of civilians were trapped under the rubble.

“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have struck a boarding school in the town of Sudja. “95 people are trapped under the rubble,” said the spokesman of the Ukrainian command in this territory, Oleksiy Dmytrachkivsky, on Telegram.