Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia killed a 9-year-old boy and ignited a fire at a major oil terminal, Russian officials reported Saturday. The attacks came a day after Moscow launched one of the largest aerial bombardments yet on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, further straining the country's power grid and civilian resilience. The child died when a drone struck his family's home near Belgorod, a city close to the Ukrainian border, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said via Telegram. The boy's mother and 7-month-old sister were injured and hospitalized. Photos shared by Gladkov showed extensive damage to their home, with a collapsed roof and walls reduced to rubble. In the Oryol region, another Ukrainian drone strike set fire to a major oil terminal, according to regional Gov. Andrey Klychkov. While the blaze was contained with no reported casualties, images shared by Ukraine's General Staff and Russian media showed massive plumes of smoke and fire engulfing the facility. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 37 Ukrainian drones across the country's south and west overnight. The Ukrainian drone strikes followed a massive Russian offensive on Friday involving 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and nearly 200 drones. The bombardment targeted critical Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which has suffered devastating damage over the course of the war, with around half destroyed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, accusing Moscow of "terrorizing millions of people" by plunging cities into darkness and cold. Rolling blackouts have become a grim routine across Ukraine as winter sets in. Ukraine's air force reported Saturday that Russia had launched 132 additional drones, of which 58 were shot down and 72 diverted by electronic jamming. Russia's Defense Ministry stated the strikes were aimed at "critically important fuel and energy facilities" and were in retaliation for a Ukrainian ATACMS missile attack on a Russian air base earlier in the week. Russia has employed large-scale "swarm" tactics, combining missiles and drones in overwhelming numbers to bypass Ukrainian air defenses, despite Western support for Kyiv's anti-aircraft capabilities. As the war nears its third year, Russia has maintained the initiative with slow but steady advances in eastern Ukraine. However, uncertainty looms over the conflict's trajectory, with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledging to end the war and raising questions about continued U.S. military aid to Kyiv. In a televised address, Zelenskyy claimed a "significant number" of North Korean troops had been deployed by Moscow in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have held positions since a daring cross-border raid this summer. Zelenskyy said the North Korean soldiers had not yet entered Ukraine but were already suffering "noticeable" losses. Amid escalating violence, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling killed at least two civilians and wounded 14 others in front-line areas in the south and northeast. — Agencies
