Russian aerial attacks killed eight civilians and wounded dozens across Ukraine on Saturday, local officials reported, as Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning that sending European troops into the conflict would signify a direct war with Russia.
Ukraine's air defenses are facing increasing pressure from an intensified Russian air campaign employing ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. Moscow's strikes have increasingly targeted Ukraine's power grid, a tactic officials state is intended to demoralize the civilian population ahead of winter.
In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, two people were killed and one wounded when Russian drones struck a residential area overnight, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov. Strikes on Kryvyi Rih resulted in one death and three injuries, local officials confirmed.
Odesa, a key Black Sea port city, and its surrounding region experienced a "massive attack" overnight, with 35 people wounded, stated regional head Oleh Kiper. Among the damaged structures was a residential high-rise, with its upper floors reportedly destroyed.
Further casualties were reported in eastern Ukraine. Three people were killed in Kramatorsk, in the partially occupied Donetsk region, when their cars were struck by drones on Saturday. Additionally, two individuals died in a Russian attack on a grocery store in the Zhytomyr region.
In a separate development, Ukrainian forces reportedly struck two chemical industry facilities within Russia, one in Samara and another in Perm, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia's independent online news outlet Astra reported drone attacks on chemical plants in both regions, though regional governors had not yet commented.
President Putin, speaking to reporters at a BRICS summit in India on Friday, stated that any decision by European governments to send troops to Ukraine would be interpreted as an act of war against Russia. "Now they’re talking about how they’re considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia," he said.
Putin also asserted that Russia poses no threat to Europe, stating, "We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted on Thursday that two incidents near Ukraine's borders with Poland and Moldova earlier in the week could be precursors to intensified Russian provocations at European border crossing points with Ukraine. He reported that two people died when Russian drones hit the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday night. A "direct threat" to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing point on Wednesday night was averted through cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv, Tusk added.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle published Saturday, President Zelensky indicated a willingness to meet with President Putin if both leaders were invited to the Group of 20 summit scheduled for December in Miami. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow's previous stance, stating that Zelensky could travel to Moscow if he desired a meeting with Putin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed on Saturday that Russia remains "ready for negotiations," but stressed that the ongoing military operation in Ukraine would not be suspended during such talks.