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At least 5 killed, 19 injured in Russian attacks over past day

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At least 5 killed, 19 injured in Russian attacks over past day
A passenger bus hit by Russian forces remains on a road at the site of the strike in Kherson, Ukraine, on Jan. 30, 2026. (Olexandr Kornyakov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

At least five people were killed, and 19 others were injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on Jan. 31.

The Air Force said on Jan. 31 that Russia launched 85 drones against Ukraine overnight, of which 55 were Shahed-type drones. It said that it had downed 64 drones in the north, south, and east of the country.

The reports of the Russian attacks come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed not to strike Ukrainian cities for a week, though Moscow said that this would concern only Kyiv, and last only until Feb. 1 — just before another cold snap.

Neither the Energy Ministry nor Ukraine's state-owned energy grid operator Ukrenergo has reported the overnight Russian attacks on energy infrastructure by the time of publication. Russia has intensified its energy blitz on Ukraine's critical infrastructure in January, causing power cuts countrywide and depriving civilians of power, heating, and water under subzero temperatures.

In northeastern Sumy Oblast, a 27-year-old woman was killed, and a 63-year-old woman was wounded by Russian first-person view (FPV) drone attacks over the past day, the regional military administration reported on Jan. 31.

In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, a 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman were wounded over the past day, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Jan. 31.

In eastern Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed, and three others were wounded, regional governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Jan. 31.

Among the attacks was a Russian drone that hit a vehicle carrying utility repair workers returning from an infrastructure facility near the city of Sloviansk, killing a specialist and wounding two others, Filashkin added. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Donbas reported that the Jan. 30 attack hit the vehicle of the municipal enterprise The Water of Donbas.

In southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, three people were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported on Jan. 31.

In southern Kherson Oblast, two people were killed, and 10 others were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Jan. 31.‌

The attacks included an artillery strike on a passenger bus at around noon on Jan. 30, killing its driver and wounding five others, according to local authorities.            

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Asami Terajima

Reporter

Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military affairs and front-line developments. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post, focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor's degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured on the Media Development Foundation's 2023 "25 under 25: Young and Bold" list of emerging media makers in Ukraine. She is among the finalists for the U.K.'s One World Media Award 2026 in the Print category and the French Bayeux Calvados-Normandy award 2025 for war correspondents in the Young Reporter category.

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