Ukraine has shot down 17 Russian "Shahed" explosive drones in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Poltava oblasts overnight, the Air Force reported on the morning of April 7.
According to the Air Force, the 17 drones departed from a base in the occupied Crimea and were all taken down.
At the same time, Kharkiv authorities reported a drone attack that caused damage in the city. It's not clear whether they referred to the same drones, and whether the damage came from the drones hitting the targets or from the falling debris of a shot-down drone.
Russian forces continue to attack civilian areas far from the front line, with the recent series of intense bombardments targeting energy infrastructure in what is likely a mission to take out Ukraine's grid. Civilians living in front-line regions in the country's east and south remain, as well as close to the Russian border in the north, remain most vulnerable.
Ukraine's second-biggest city Kharkiv was attacked overnight again, the local authorities said, reporting three injuries. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said 10 houses, a kindergarten, three five-story buildings, and three cars suffered in the attack.
Syniehubov also reported that the "Shahed" drones targeted the areas of Kharkiv and Lozova, the region's second-largest city, about a two-hour drive south of Kharkiv. He said some of the attack drones were downed by the air defense, without disclosing further details. There were no casualties.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported that Russian "Shahed" drones targeted the areas of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih, as well as Kamianske – a city just outside Dnipro.
Lysak said that Ukraine's air defense took down seven drones in Kamianske, two in the Dnipro area, and two near Kryvyi Rih. In Kamianske, falling debris damaged a few buildings and cars.
The regional governor of central Poltava Oblast, Filip Pronin, has not reported about the drone attack targeting his region as of 10 a.m.
Besides the drones, Russian troops also fired a Kh-31 air-to-surface missile from occupied eastern Luhansk Oblast and an Iskander-M ballistic missile from occupied Crimea, according to the Air Force. Their report on Telegram did not disclose which regions of Ukraine the missiles targeted, and didn't say that they were shot down.
Ukraine's military in the south reported that an undisclosed site in Odesa was hit by an Iskander-M missile overnight.
Chris York
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