Russia fires 280 drones and 16 ballistic missiles at Ukraine as local ceasefire begins in Oleshky

Russia and Ukraine have started a localised ceasefire to allow a humanitarian operation to begin in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, but Russian strikes continued in other parts of the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones overnight.

Zelenskyy said at least 15 people were injured in Kyiv. There were further attacks in the Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of President Zelenskyy's office, confirmed that the ceasefire in Oleshky is in operation. He said Ukraine's Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, has headed to the site and will be responsible for coordinating the process, and that they are in constant contact with him.

Budanov said it is critically important that this mission to rescue their people be carried out successfully and safely. He said he was sincerely grateful to everyone involved in carrying out and supporting the operation, and that every Ukrainian life is priceless.

Zelenskyy said there had been a serious escalation in Russia's operation against Ukraine's logistics. Almost everywhere, Russia's targets were the energy sector, logistics and ordinary urban infrastructure, he said.

Zelenskyy also said the artificial and prolonged delays in the delivery of interceptor packages for Patriot and Nasams systems are directly helping Russia achieve the objectives of its campaign. Every such delay means another Russian strike on one facility or another, he said, adding that strikes are taking place every day and Russia is constantly taking new steps toward escalation.