Russia unleashed one of its heaviest overnight barrages of the war on Ukraine's capital, firing 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones at Kyiv and 12 other regions in the night between 6 and 7 November, just three days before Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to sit down for US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said all 36 missiles were aimed at Kyiv and the surrounding region, and that air defences managed to shoot down only four of them because of a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles. Air defences shot down 149 of the 172 drones, according to Ukraine's air force. At least two people were killed and nine others were wounded, with some reports putting the death toll at six, including a seven-year-old child.
THE DAMAGE IN KYIV
The strikes hit energy facilities, homes, businesses and a kindergarten across the capital, and damaged the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River. Power, water and heating supplies were knocked out in parts of the city. Ukraine's Energy Ministry said the attacks damaged the networks that carry electricity from nuclear power plants to Kyiv and the central regions, and substations were hit in five other regions as well. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned that the energy situation in the capital was "extremely difficult", with temperatures heading towards freezing as winter approaches.
Zelensky said Russia had used North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles to strike energy facilities, citing preliminary findings from inspections at impact sites. "Russia is preparing for the trilateral talks by launching ballistic missiles at Ukraine's critical infrastructure," he wrote on X, adding that Moscow was trying to pressure Ukraine's position before the negotiations. He also urged the US Congress to pay more attention to Ukraine, saying Russia keeps increasing the number of its attacks.
UKRAINE HITS BACK
Ukraine retaliated by striking the Saratov oil refinery in southwestern Russia, triggering major fires at the facility, which processes about 140,000 barrels of crude a day. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had targeted military-industrial, energy and transport infrastructure in and around Kyiv, and claimed to have shot down 411 Ukrainian drones overnight over ten Russian regions, the Crimean Peninsula and the Black and Azov seas.
TALKS DAYS AWAY
The escalation comes as negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States prepare to meet in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November in the latest effort to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is now in its fifth year. It will be the first trilateral engagement of its kind since February. Zelensky had warned a day earlier, on 6 November, that intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a strike targeting the energy sector, bridges over the Dnipro and civilian infrastructure.
The timing of the barrage — days before talks, at the start of winter, and with Kyiv's air defences short of interceptors — is being read in Kyiv as a deliberate attempt to weaken Ukraine's hand at the negotiating table.
Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera, New York Post, The Times of India and Times Now.
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ROMAN URDU VERSION:
Russia ne Ukraine ke dar-ul-hukumat Kyiv par jang ki sab se bhari raat bhar ki golabari mein se ek ki hai — 6 aur 7 November ki darmiyani raat 36 ballistic missiles aur 172 drones Kyiv aur 12 doosre ilaqon par daaghe gaye. Ye hamla us waqt hua hai jab sirf teen din baad, 10 aur 11 November ko Abu Dhabi mein America ki saalisi mein Russia, Ukraine aur America ke darmiyan aman mazakrat hone wale hain.
Sadr Volodymyr Zelensky ne bataya ke tamam 36 missiles Kyiv aur is ke aas-paas ke ilaqon par daaghe gaye, aur fazai difa sirf 4 missiles gira saka — Patriot interceptor missiles ki kami ki wajah se. Kam az kam do afrad halak aur nau zakhmi hue; kuch reports ke mutabiq halakaton ki tadad chhe hai, jin mein aik saat saal ka bacha bhi shamil hai.
Hamle mein Kyiv ke Northern Bridge, gharon, karobari imaraton aur aik kindergarten ko nuqsan pahuncha, aur sheher ke kuch hisson mein bijli, pani aur heating band ho gayi. Ukraine ki Energy Ministry ke mutabiq nuclear power plants se Kyiv ko bijli pohanchane wale network ko bhi nuqsan pahuncha hai. Kyiv ke mayor ne khabardar kiya hai ke sardiyan qareeb aate hi sheher ki energy surat-e-haal "intehai mushkil" hai.
Zelensky ne kaha ke Russia ne energy tansibat par North Korea ke banaye hue KN-23 missiles istemal kiye, aur X par likha ke "Russia mazakrat ki tayyari is tarah kar raha hai ke Ukraine ke aham infrastructure par ballistic missiles daagh raha hai." Unhon ne US Congress se Ukraine ki madad barhane ki appeal bhi ki.
Jawab mein Ukraine ne Russia ki Saratov oil refinery par hamla kiya, jis se wahan bari aag lag gayi. Russia ka kehna hai ke us ne Kyiv ke aas-paas fauji aur energy tansibat ko nishana banaya.
Abu Dhabi mazakrat is jang ko khatam karne ki taaza koshish hain, jo February 2022 mein Russia ke hamle se shuru hui thi aur ab apne paanchve saal mein hai.
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